Beautiful Disaster
by anzafire
Summary: SERIES COMPLETE. Follows Beautiful Mess and Beautiful Lie. Will and Emma have always been a couple to beat the odds. But with their family in shambles, their marriage crumpling, and an unexpected twist in events, life as they'd known it will be changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

Luke wailed, Lily screamed, Emma silently counted backwards from ten, and Will groaned as he entered the front door on his fifth day after returning from work at the start of the school year. Emma was faring much better at dealing with an infant than she had with Lily, but it was the firstborn child who was the main source of frustration for the family of four. Her wild jealousy and still-untamed OCD were the cause of frequent meltdowns and full-blown panic attacks. Both parents were facing the struggle of dividing their attention between their equally needy children.

Will wiped his hand over his face and unlaced his shoes before forcing his already exhausted body to take on dealing with his emotional daughter. He found Lily holding onto Emma's legs, screeching at the top of her lungs while Emma changed Luke's diaper. Will stepped into the room, pried the four-year-old off of his wife's legs, removing her from the chaos and taking her to the kitchen to convince Lily to drink a glass of cool water to calm down. As her face grew redder and angrier with frustration, Will felt himself aging.

He was tired.

It took a few additional minutes, but Lily had settled down to the point of hiccups and looked up at her father with remorse. She could see the exhaustion in his eyes, and shrank at her own lack of self-control. "Lily, this has got to stop," He demanded, "What on earth made you that upset?"

Her lower lip trembled and eyes grew watery again. "I just wanted Mommy," She blubbered.

"Oh, Lily Ann, that is not a reason to act this way," Will sighed, disciplining his unstable daughter as gently as his low-levels of patience would allow him to. "Honey, you cry about this way too much. We need to find a way to understand that sometimes Luke needs Mommy more than you do. He's just a tiny baby, Lily. You are a big girl who knows she has to be patient. You can take care of yourself for the most part. Lukie can't."

Lily sniffed heavily three times before speaking. "You...you and Mommy love-love baby Luke more than me!" She bellowed, throwing her head back. "You do-o-o!"

"That is not true, Lily," Will retorted sharply. "your Mom and I love you and Luke just the same. Don't you believe otherwise." He pulled her close, keeping in mind to stay gentle. Kissing her temple he asked, "Should we see of Mommy and Luke want to go for a walk?"

"Can we leave Luke here?"

Will carried her down the hall, giving his daughter a look. "What do you think the answer to that is?"

She hid her face in his neck, playing with the button closest to his tie. Upon seeing Emma cooing at her baby brother, however, the tears started all over again. The mother paused her bonding with her son and looked up at her husband warily. "Just put her down and get changed," She sighed, "We'll deal with it slowly."

He did so, depositing is howling daughter on the floor, giving her leeway to attack Emma's legs again, kicking at her ankles. Will didn't look back at his disaster of a family as he shut the door to his bedroom. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the wall, trying to regulate his breathing and calm his frustration. If he had known a year previous that Emma hadn't actually started her birth control again, he would have gone to great lengths to ensure that they remained a family of three.

With his five-month-old son screeching down the hall in response to Lily's tears, there was nothing he wanted more than to turn back time.

Emma placed Luke in his swing and took Lily's hand, gently forcing her into her pink-themed bedroom, directing her to a white stool in the corner. "Lily, you were given a warning by your Daddy and myself to start behaving instead of screaming. You didn't listen, so now you need to sit here for four minutes.

She exited at Lily's shrill protest, closing the door most of the way in need of peace. She wasn't sure what she'd been thinking the year before when she'd disposed of her medication, but clearly she didn't have the best interests of her daughter in mind.

Luke had calmed considerably in his swing, and after the afternoon they'd had, Emma felt it best to leave him to drift off to sleep and attempt speaking with Will about his day.

The joy of having a son had worn off quickly for Will and he'd all but shut down communication with Emma after July began. He threw himself into work, claiming he to redo his unit plans for every class; most nights he fell asleep on the sofa, 'working,' and didn't get back up to join his wife in bed. The tension was wearing on Emma, and she wanted to deal with their problems instead of letting them fester. Yet time and time again, Will refused.

The only time they'd been close was a single night of intimacy they spent together after Will had returned home late from a night with his father in mid July, which had him not in a sober state of mind. Emma, exhausted from the emotional strain of their thinning marriage, initiated the action, knowing her drunken husband would never refuse her, and hoping it would bring their spark back.

It had failed. By the time they'd finished, Will had returned to his mood, showered, and moved to the couch to watch TV, then ended up passing out. Emma cried for three hours, but instead of letting the depression take over, she poured her time and energy into mothering her infant.

"Hey," Emma breathed upon entering their master bedroom, watching as Will pulled a T-shirt over his head. "How, um...how as work?" He shrugged, buttoning a pair of jeans and running a belt through the loops. "Sorry you came home to that level of chaos...Lily was—"

"I've come home to it every day this week. Don't make an excuse today," He said gruffly, gripping the handle of their door, staring at her shocked expression. "I'm taking Lily back to therapy next week."

Emma's eyes went from surprise to pure anger at his statement. "Excuse me?"

"It's been a year without progress. She's only getting worse because you put _your_ want before _her_ need. You pulled her out of therapy, out of daycare, then threw another baby on top of the halt in her progress. She is a total disaster, Emma, and I'm not coming home one more day to that hysteria."

"You're wrong," Emma fumed, "You are completely wrong. I took her out of therapy because it made her worse, if you don't remember. And there was no need for daycare! There is plenty of socialization in preschool—"

Will opened the door and marched into his daughter's room, where her tears had dried to her face and sniffles reduced. His tone was much gentler with Lily than it had been with Emma. "It's time to go for a walk, Lil. Let's go, now."

She scurried from the naughty seat she'd been assigned to, asking if Luke would be joining them. Will shook his head, explaining the baby would be staying home with Emma.

As they walked out the front door, Emma choked on a lump of tears, completely lost as how to fix the mess she'd made.

* * *

><p>"Daddy, I was bad at school today," Lily confessed as Will pushed her on a swing at the park.<p>

"Oh, yeah?" He questioned, slowing the swing and moving to face his daughter. Every day that she'd been in the preschool that week had been a horror story. Monday, she'd bit Emma as the mother attempted to leave her. Tuesday she'd run out of the preschool when they attempted to finger paint, flying down the hall until a fifth grader with good timing caught her in the bathroom and convinced the four-year-old to go back to class in the form of a piggy-back ride. Wednesday, Lily threw up at circle time and Thursday she'd smacked a teacher in the arm when they attempted to help her with scissors, then crumpled up her paper and thrown herself to the floor in a fit of despair. "And what did you do that was so awful, hm?"

The redhead sniffled as she tried to avert her gaze from her father's face. "Daddy...I screamed. When Mommy dropped me off. She was trying to give me a hug and I didn't want to stay. So I started yelling and when she asked me to stop, I started kicking and gave her a booboo on her leg. I didn't mean to! It was only a accident!"

"But it happened, Lily. And you know you can't act like that when Mommy drops you off. Just because you don't want to stay doesn't mean you can throw a tantrum. Was that all that happened?"

"No," She muttered, letting a fat tear roll down her freckled cheek. "Daddy, I screamed at Miss Kaypee. And at Scottie. And then I thew a fit. I ran into the hallway and Miss Kaypee's helper had to chase me."

"Sounds like you've had a really rough day," Will sympathized with his emotionally distraught daughter, squeezing her shoulder in understanding. "What do you think made you act like this?"

"Mommy!" Lily said affirmatively, "She stays with Luke all day! He gets to be with her all the time! It's not fair, Daddy! I don't want to go to preschool! Make Luke go to school and I'll stay home with Mommy!"

"Lily," He exasperated, shaking his head. "Honey, that's no excuse." Her bottom lip quivered and Will gently pressed his thumb against her chin. "No crying. Just listen to me. Mommy has to stay home with Luke until he's bigger. Just like she stayed home with you when you were Luke's age. It's his turn now. You need to do what you're supposed to throughout the day to make it easier on Mommy. That includes going to school."

She folded her arms over her chest, pouting intensely.

"Lily." Will said sharply. "It's only been a week. You'll get in the swing of things and learn to have fun at school. But for now...I think you need to remember to keep your crying in check."

"I don't know how!" She choked, fresh tears spilling out of her chocolate eyes. "See? See, Daddy, I just started crying!" Wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I don't know how to stop!"

Will pulled her into his hold, rocking her gently, standing and moving them to a bench in a quiet area. "It's going to be alright, baby. Daddy's going to get you some help so you can learn to control this, okay?"

Lily wound her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "You're the best Daddy ever."

He buried his nose in her windblown hair, inhaling the strawberry shampoo she was so fond of. "Anything for my baby girl, right?"

She sat up, kissing his nose, bringing a smile to the teacher's face. "Daddy, can we get ice cream?"

"After dinner," He responded, standing up, drying the remainder of her tears with his thumb. "How about we play for fifteen more minutes and then go home?"

"Sounds good," She nodded, scampering out of her arms and running towards the slide, shouting, "Catch me," Over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>"Mommy, how come you and Daddy don't tuck me in together anymore?" Lily pouted as Emma pulled a plush pink blanket over the little girl's chest.<p>

"Well," Emma sighed, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head. "Someone's got to take care of Lukie, so Daddy's doing it tonight."

Lily turned over, giving Emma her backside. "Luke ruins everything," She murmured, closing her eyes.

"Lil," The elder redhead rubbed her daughter's back, "Baby, look at me, please?"

"No!" Lily shouted. "I want Daddy!"

Emma swallowed hard; Lily rarely called for her dad when she was upset. Feeling defeated, Emma kissed her moody daughter's forehead and turned out the light despite her calls of wanting Will's attention.

The father in question exited Luke's room when he caught sight of his wife, brushing past her and into his daughter's room, where he closed the door behind him.

Emma told herself to let go of the feelings of guilt and failure that were screaming from her inner being, but it was impossible. Shedding her emotion in form of tears, she lifted a squirming Luke out of his crib, holding him against her shoulder and collapsing into the rocking chair that had belonged in Lily's nursery, its cushion now draped in a blue slipcover. Luke relaxed against her body, curling his tiny fingers around the edge of her shirt collar. Emma shook her head at his action, kissing each tiny finger softly after unlatching it. "Don't you start doing that, now...I don't know that I could handle two hysterical kids."

He cooed, opening his mouth and sucking on the fabric covering her shoulder, making Emma giggle. "Are you hungry, little man? Want Mommy to feed you?"

"Aaeao!"

"Oh yeah?" She dried her tears with the corner of a clean burp rag, then unbuttoned her cardigan so he could feed. "Here we go, baby boy..." She stroked his brownish-red hair away from his forehead, staring at her baby with content as he nursed away.

She rocked slowly, enjoying the silence, save for his suckling—

Silence. Will had gotten Lily to stop howling.

While Emma was thankful for his intervention, she resented it nonetheless. Will had clearly said something to their daughter when they were alone earlier in the day. She was determined to figure out what.

Five minutes later, Will stepped out of the former nursery, closing the door until barely a sliver was left open, then moved to the middle of his son's room, meeting his wife's eyes hotly.

"Next time, when she calls for me, you best let me see her."

Emma felt a fire swell within her stomach and she was pretty sure it wasn't due to the attraction she felt towards her husband, but from two months of pent up anger and frustration. Gently, she encouraged Luke to let off, and adjusted herself while setting him back in his crib, meeting Will with her arms crossed defensively over her chest.

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" It wasn't what she wanted to say. She didn't want to come off as aggressive. But at the point they had gotten themselves to, she didn't know what other method would be effective.

"Excuse me?"

"Will, I understand, okay?" She was soft, her tone quiet as to not stir the baby. "I get it. You're tired. Quite frankly, I'm tired, too. We had a baby we weren't ready for..." She shook her head with a little laugh. "Actually, in honesty, we had two babies we weren't ready for...but that's not the point, Will. There's something bothering you, and I know you feel like Lily hasn't made much progress, and I know you blame me for that. And that's fine. Blame me all you want. But do _not_ drag our daughter into this."

Will looked beyond Emma as she ranted, watching as Luke attempted to sit up by himself, his five-month-old frame not quite developed enough to do so unsupported. He walked past the angry mother and lifted his son, cradling him in his hold. "I'm not discussing this, Emma. When my daughter wants my attention and my reassurance, don't deprive her of that."

"_Your_ daughter? Will, it's not like—"

"Don't. Emma, don't make this into something it isn't. There doesn't need for the drama—"

"Well then stop creating it!" Emma demanded, glaring. "Stop being so facetious and ignoring me! I've been trying to work with you. I've respected your space. I've given you the time I thought you needed to get over...whatever this is! Will," Her voice cracked and he cast his gaze on the ceiling to keep from giving into her emotional rampage. "I just want my husband back."

Will finally looked at her face, meeting her eyes with a near growl in his voice as he hissed, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're so different! You come home, completely ignore me, brush me off when I try and talk to you, demand that Lily goes back to therapy — somewhere you know I don't want her to go, say something to turn her against me—"

"Don't insinuate things you don't know," Will interrupted, his eyebrows lowering as he placed Luke in his bed, walking towards the door and turning out the light, indicating he was through with the conversation.

But Emma wasn't. She followed him to their bedroom, scurrying in front of him to block the entrance of their bathroom. He might have been mad at her, but Will would never dare lift a finger to move her.

"Get out of the way," He bit, shaking his head.

"No! Not until you talk to me! I don't understand what is going on, Will! Please talk to me! I don't care if you yell, or tell me everything is my fault! I don't care! Just explain to me why you feel what you do!" She was hysterical, her words coming out in high pitched breaths, but not upset enough to convince Will to back down.

"There's nothing to say. You've made it impossible for me to look at you without feeling so...so...angry! You've pushed me to the point where looking at you makes me..."

He tapered off, hoping Emma wouldn't ask, "Makes you what, Will? Makes you crazy? Welcome to my life!"

"No, not welcome to your life! This was _our_ life. I used to look at you and want to kiss every part of your face...now I just want to leave the room and hope that I can fix Lily before I feel the same towards my own daughter!"

"She doesn't need to be fixed," Emma spoke lowly, her eyes darkening with anger as she defended her firstborn. "She needs to get better. She _isn't_ broken."

"Then how come every god damn time I walk through the door, she's on the ground, screaming and crying? How come you can't get her to stop? How come, Emma, how come?"

"Because she doesn't understand! She just needs time to mature and—"

"No, she doesn't! If you hadn't stopped the therapy, she'd have been a perfectly normal four-year-old by now—"

"It doesn't happen overnight! In case you can't recall, it took me twenty-three years to be able to do half of what I can do now without a meltdown—"

"Because you never got help!" He shouted, grabbing hold of the hair on top of his head and whirling in a circle of anger. "Everyone catered into your habits and let you do whatever you wanted! If you'd gotten help, you'd have been fine a long time ago!"

Emma raged in response, her lips in a thin line and eyes wide with retaliation. "I didn't think I needed it! Until _you_ came along. You changed me, Will! If you hadn't been here I would still be polishing grapes one by one. There's no way on earth I could have given birth to a baby, let alone raise it! Will," Her voice lowered as did her arms. "Will, you changed me. You made me a better person. I thought that was mutual. I thought I'd changed you for the better." She was quiet, her face downcast and voice cracking with the first signs of tears, "But now I see I've ruined you. I put too much on you. I gave you a child who's _broken_. And I can't fix her."

Will had no reaction to her sudden change in tone, and rapid drop of defense for herself and daughter. Since the middle of July, he had wanted nothing to do with Emma. He was done. She'd devoted her attention to their son and given into the demands of their daughter. He thought she was focused on being a parent, on having her way with raising their children. He thought he could let her. He thought he could dedicate himself to winning Teacher of the Year title back and all but forgetting the family he'd helped create. But as he saw the woman he'd married, having moved to sob on the edge of their bed because she didn't have the strength to stand any longer, her head buried in her hands, he realized he'd thought wrong.

"Emma," He attempted to speak, but her name came out as a wail and he collapsed on the bed next to her.

"I understand if you want nothing to do with me," She cried, "I'll understand. I'm a mental case who thought she'd been self-cured in a muddy field. But clearly, I'm nothing more than an anxiety-ridden loon. Who would want to live like that?" She choked, "Who would want to be married to someone who can't comfort on their own child because they're too hysterical on their own? I don't know what to do now, Will. You've got to make a decision. I've tried. I've tried, so hard, to make this work. And you want nothing to do with it. There's nothing more for me to do."

Will shook his head, trying to grasp what she said. She was giving up on them, because she thought that he had.

"I don't know what to say," He finally admitted, tossing his hands up in defeat. "I'm not looking to break up this family, if that's what you think I want. It's not, Emma."

"Why not? You clearly don't want anything to do with me. You hardly ever spend time with your son, and when you are with Lily, it's usually just to stop a meltdown. Why do you want to stay, Will?" She asked, as seriously and realistically as she could while sucking up tears.

"You're my family. I'm not just going to walk away from my family. Not now, not ever. I guess...Ignoring everything seemed better than this constant arguing. But obviously it's only made it worse. I don't know what to say beyond that. I don't know how to make it right again."

"You could start—" She sputtered, a fresh wave of tears cascading down her cheeks, "By just...just...just holding me, a-and telling me...you love me?"

When the words came from his wife's mouth, not his daughter's, Will knew he had broken her spirit. What he'd done over two months was not okay.

He would not be able to forgive himself for his selfishness.

"Emma," He managed to whisper, gathering her into his arms and moving them to lie on the bed. "I love you," His voice was hoarse, but he knew it didn't matter. She simply needed to see the words falling off his lips to believe them. "I love you."

She cried loudly, her face never leaving his chest and her fingers curled tightly around the creases in his shirt. She was not okay, and he didn't know what he could do to make her that way.

"Will," She finally spoke, her voice a level of hysteria he usually experienced from Lily, "Please...Please...I need...I need..."

He positioned them so he hovered above her, tracing her face with his hand. "Sweetheart, what is it? What do you need?" She closed her eyes, trying to calm down, trying to breathe but her attempt was in vain. "Em, is your anxiety medication in the top drawer still?" She nodded and Will scurried off of her, throwing the top drawer of the bathroom open and popping a pill into his hand. He hated that he was the reason his wife needed Xanax. Filling a glass of water, he helped Emma take the antidepressant and gulp the water down, sitting her up and talking her through breathing exercises until she appeared calm. "There we go...okay, Em...you're alright. You're alright."

The redhead placed her head on the top pillow and closed her eyes again, still breathing deeply.

A knock came to their opened door, where a concerned Lily bore worried eyebrows and her bottom lip, sucked beneath her teeth. "I heard yelling," She said quietly. "Is Mommy hurt?"

Will rubbed Emma's arm, kissing her cheek before preparing to take his daughter back to bed. "Wait..." Emma mumbled from the blankets. "Could, um..." She inhaled sharply, and Will picked up her message, lifting Lily to the mattress and silently encouraging her to snuggle up to her mother while a lonely cry from down the hall had him fetching his son.

Once the whole family was united, with a brief break for pajama changes for Will and Emma, the husband and father turned out the light and cuddled next to his wife, who had Luke sleeping soundly on her chest, with Lily nestled into her opposite side. He brushed a strand of hair off her forehead and pulled the comforter over the four of them.

"I think...we should...talk in the morning," Emma whispered, not making eye-contact with Will as she stroked Luke's spine. "With no kids here."

He nodded, fingertips playing with the straps of her nightgown. "I'll call my dad when we wake up."

The family soundly slept until the sun rose, even Luke had only stirred through the night. Lily was the first to arise, declaring that Saturday would be "Super fun day!" While bouncing her parents awake.

"Daddy, can we go to the park again today, pretty, _pretty_ please?" She begged, sitting on his chest while Emma had stood to change Luke and prepare him a formula-based bottle after taking her anxiety medication the night before.

"Sweetie, I'm actually about to call Papa and see if you can go over to his house today."

"Oh. Well, Papa will take me!"

Will cringed. "Honey, Luke's going to go as well, so I think you'll probably have to stick to the swings in his backyard, okay?"

She pouted before shrugging, demanding, "You'll just have to take me later, Daddy," and standing to jump on the bed until Will growled, grabbing her legs, making the four-year-old shriek. He tickled her until she laughed so hard there were tears in her eyes and Emma re-entered the room with a smile while Luke downed a bottle.

"Mommy, save me!" Lily managed to say while Will attacked her belly.

"Oh, dear," Emma shook her head and Will's fingers made their assent, instead pulling his daughter into a hug.

Emma sat back down, cradling Luke while Lily stared him down. "I think that Luke should go somewhere else while I go to Papa's house."

"I think you should be nice to your baby brother," Her mother responded, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "If you would like, you may go pick an outfit out of your bottom drawer to wear today."

Lily's eyes lit up, she enjoyed matching her own clothing — like a big girl — and dashed to her pink room to get dressed. Will yawned and stretched, reaching for his cell phone to call his father, apprehensive about the conversation that would take place with Emma while the kids were away.

Once she had given Luke five hundred kisses and ensured he had more than enough bottles and diapers to make it through a few hours, Emma buckled him into her father-in-law's vehicle, nervous for her first time away from her son when he wasn't with Will. Lily of course, demanded equal attention, wanting to be buckled in last so she could 'have the best kisses! You always save the best for last!'

Will placed a hand on Emma's shoulder as his father drove away, squeezing it lightly as he swallowed hard in anticipation.

"Don't be afraid to talk to your wife," She said, turning around with a gentle smile and cupping his cheek with her hand. "I'm not mad at you, Will."

He then took her hand, guiding them toward the house and into the kitchen, where she'd prepared breakfast for them. He pulled out a stool for her before sitting on one himself, serving them both before clearing his throat and beginning what he wanted to say.

"I've been frustrated, Emma. That's the simplest way to say it. And I think I'd be lying if I said that it was all unjustifiable. I'm not trying to put the blame on you, for anything, but..." He sighed, scratching at his face for a moment before continuing, "I just really do not agree with what we're doing with Lily. She needs something more than what we're giving her, Em. Yesterday," He shook his head, "Yesterday at the park, she told me that she can't control her crying. And she wants to, but she doesn't know how. We need to give her the tools to be able to do that, and giving into _every_ _single_ tantrum is not the way to do that."

Emma bit her lip and kept her eyes down. "I know, Will...I just...when she cries, something inside me just...it breaks and I want to do everything I can to make her happy, to give her what she wants. I don't mean to constantly give into the tantrums, but—"

"But you do, _we_ do...We give in and we're not helping her learn to cope. She needs to learn how to comfort herself; look at Luke! He's only five months and already he's learning how to stop his own meltdowns. The way he grabs his blanket and hides his face in it when he's crying, that's him controlling his own behavior, even if he doesn't really know what he's doing. I think that because Lily was our first, we never let her learn how to regulate her own emotions. We picked her up at the first sign of fussing, and we still do. I also know that her behavior, not just her emotions have been on the brink this past week. She's acting out at school, getting violent with you around the house...It's got to stop."

She didn't respond and Will continued. "We've got to either find some sort of parenting class and try to learn to handle it ourself, or put her back in a therapy program. Maybe not with the same woman. But something _has_ to be done. I emailed her teacher, last night. I asked if we could set up a meeting and try to get her some services through the school. She should qualify for _something_." He paused to let Emma think, taking a bite of his food. "But, on a lighter note, Em..." She faced him, blinking rapidly as she was trying to control her own emotion on the subject of her daughter's anxiety. "I think that you're doing an amazing job with Luke. He's such a happy, content baby, and you're just so calm with him. I appreciate you staying home with him," Will alluded to an argument they'd had in July, when Emma wanted to return to work in the mornings while Luke stayed at a childcare center. "I think he's going to be better for it."

"I-I don't mind it...being home with Luke. He's so much easier to deal with than Lily was...I guess it also helps that I know what I'm doing this time, too."

Will nodded as they both stopped their conversation to eat. "I'm glad to hear it, Em. Really. But," He stood, clearing off his space as he was finished. "There's still one more thing we need to discuss."

"Us," Emma breathed, still finding it difficult to look at him as he spoke.

"...Yeah, that'd be it," He said, washing a pan in the sink and placing it in the drying wrack before turning back around, crossing his arms over his chest protectively. "Where are we?"

"Well, we're in the kitchen...finishing breakfast," She rolled her eyes with a smile that said she'd rather smuggle herself with their kitchen drapery than have the conversation they were about to.

"Em," He shook his head with an equally unprepared smile. "Let's just talk. Just...talk. I know that I've been horrible, and distant. I've poured all my energy into work and...neglected you. And I kind of thought that's the way you wanted things...you weren't trying to—"

"Will! No, god, no! I wanted to be with you so bad! Every night I fell asleep in tears just wishing that you'd come lie down with me," She felt tears welling up as she tried to express how she felt. "I wanted you to hold me and kiss me goodnight, but I thought that I'd really messed up. I just...I wanted to be close to you, so badly, that's why the one night...when you came back pretty drunk, I convinced you to...have sex and...when it was over you just...left the room...and I thought...I thought that I'd messed things up permanently. All I wanted was to be with you," She dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, sniffing. "All I _want_ is to be with you."

He stepped forward, moving her abandoned plate of breakfast food to the side, taking her hands in his, rubbing the back of them with his thumbs and leaning over the counter until his forehead touched hers. "There wasn't a point where I didn't want to be with you, Emma. I guess I just didn't know how to say what I felt."

"Can we not do the silent treatment thing anymore?" Emma questioned, nuzzling against him.

"I certainly hope so. I don't want to be angry at you, Em. I want to be able to talk out issues, like we're doing now. I don't want to look at you and think that we're falling apart."

"Then don't," Emma cried, pulling away to meet his eyes. "Don't think that, Will! We're stronger than all the frustration! We can make it through whatever it is that's going on. Please, please don't ever think that we're not going to make it. We are," She cried, "We have to."

Will whipped around the island, wrapping Emma in a hug that lifted her into a cradle hold. Wordlessly, he walked them down the hall into their bedroom and laid her on the bed, hovering over his wife with a long kiss. Her fingers found themselves tangled in his curls, holding his face to hers while tears continued to cascade down her face.

He paused to sit up, brushing the damp trails off her cheeks and kissing them both before removing his t-shirt and unbuckling his belt. "Emma...I love you. I don't want you to think I don't. I don't want you to be worried about us not making it. We will, I promise."

"Promise?" She whispered, her eyes not betraying her sensitivity and the importance of his assurance.

"I promise. I want to work on being a better husband, a better father...And what I want, here and now, is to show you that I still love you. Can I do that?"

She nodded hard and he took her eager invitation to lower himself back on top of her, finding a sensitive spot on her collar bone and nipping at it, eliciting a moan from his wife.

"I love you," Emma whispered before Will's lips descended to hers again.

He pecked her lips lightly while a hand slipped up her shirt, rubbing the curve of her side as he repeated her phrase. "I love you too, Em. I love you, too."

* * *

><p>Emma groaned as she pulled herself up from the tile of the bathroom floor, hastily moving to the sink for mouthwash after expelling the contents of her stomach, cursing herself for having taken the Xanax the night before — it often led to nausea and vomiting for several days after the emergency dose was needed.<p>

Will had gone to his father's house an hour previous, giving Emma time to make the family an early dinner and finish laundry before her daughter and son would demand her attention for the remainder of the night — yet as a second wave rumbled through her stomach, Emma was fairly sure she wouldn't be spending much time with either of her children.

She pulled herself together long enough to finish the meal she'd started and fold the last load of clothes, setting steaming plates of food on the table as Lily rushed into the kitchen, wearing noticeably different clothes, screeching in excitement, tackling Emma's legs.

"I missed you, Mommy!" Emma grinned, as she didn't quite feel the same, having been relieved to have a few hours without a screaming fit.

"Did you have a good time at Papa's?"

"No!" She said firmly, "Luke spat up on me!"

"That's why you're wearing something different, I see," Emma said, referring to the t-shirt and sweatpants combo that had apparently come from her father-in-law's. "Good thing you haven't grown too much since Papa stopped watching you everyday."

"Mommy, it was really yucky! I...I might have yelled at Luke."

"Might have?" The mother raised a brow. "And what did Papa do when that happened?"

Lily looked down at her feet. "He said accidents happen. And Luke didn't mean it. And it wasn't nice to yell at him."

"That's right. I know it's really gross to get thrown up on, but it happens, honey."

"I cried real bad, after, too. I had to have a bath, so Papa gave me one and found me some clothes in the closet. And I wanted to come home. But he said I had to wait."

"Oh," Emma felt a sudden burst of sympathetic emotion for her daughter and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry that happened to you, sweetheart. It's okay, though, right? You're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm can we play?"

"We're going to eat dinner first," She kissed Lily's temple and released her. "Go wash your hands."

Lily threw her head back, prepared to start a tantrum when Emma warned, "Do not start crying. We will play when you're all done eating. For now, I need you to wash your hands and sit at the table.

Will stood in the doorway with Luke, who was smiling and reaching for his mother. Emma took him gladly, telling her husband that dinner was ready. He quickly made up a bottle and sat down at the table, while Emma fed her son, willing her stomach to settle down so she could eat as well.

"Can you tell me one good thing that happened at Papa's?" Emma pried good news out of her daughter, who was slumped in her chair.

Lily shook her head, sticking her index and middle fingers in her mouth, clearly not in the mood to talk, or eat, it seemed, as she pushed her vegetables around her plate.

"Honey, can you take a few bites of your carrots or broccoli?" Will pleaded with her, brushing her messy hair away from her face in hope to make her look up.

"Not hungry," She muttered, jumping out of her seat and slowly leaving the room, dragging her miserable frame to her bedroom and shutting the door.

Emma watched at a loss for what to do as Luke finished his bottle. She sighed, her shoulders heaving forward. "I don't even know what to do with her."

"I think she should be alone for a little bit. She went to her room of her free will, and didn't ask for either of us to join her. Maybe she needs some time to be by herself."

The mother shrugged and repositioned her son in her lap so she could eat. Halfway through the meal, her phone rang, displaying a picture of her parents. She let it go to voicemail, receiving a concerned look from Will. "When was the last time you spoke to your mom and dad?"

"A few weeks ago," Emma shook her head, clearly frustrated. "I got into it with my dad, like always. He thinks that I'm making a bad decision by staying home with Luke. He's afraid I'm going to be depressed again, or that me taking care of Luke is going to make him have the same symptoms as Lily. I ended the conversation feeling like a failure of a mother and I have no intention of speaking to either of my parents any time soon." She was honest, having nothing to hide from Will anymore.

"Wow, Em...I don't even know what to say," Will sighed and reached out, offering to take Luke into his hold as he had finished eating. "I think he's wrong. I haven't seen any symptoms of depression from you...and if I had, they'd probably be my fault, not the baby's." He muttered, feeling guilty. "You don't feel that way, do you?"

"No, not at all," She answered truthfully. "I mean, aside from what we talked about last night, I'm actually feeling very well."

Will looked down at his son, pressing a kiss to the top of his head and bouncing him on his knee, earning an ecstatic giggle from the boy. "My dad said Lily didn't eat her lunch. She didn't touch a bite of it."

"Hm," Emma bit her bottom lip as she stared at the full, sectioned dish across from hers. "She's been really picky lately, especially at dinner. Last night I don't think she ate more than a third of what was on her plate."

"Maybe it's time for a visit with her regular doctor. When she opened the door wearing the same clothes that fit her in the spring a year and a half ago, it sort of hit me...she isn't growing, Em. Put her next to Scott, and she's a full head shorter than him."

"She was premature, though. She might not ever catch up to a normal growth curve. She's always been small...but...on the other hand," Emma blinked and shook her head. "I haven't had to buy her new clothes because she's grown out of anything...in a _long_ time...I'll call the doctor on Monday. Did you hear back from Miss Kaypee?"

Will's eyes lit up in hope and he stood, carrying Luke to fetch his laptop, returning moments later as Emma cleared the table, wrapping Lily's plate in cellophane in case she got hungry later.

"Aieaaaaaa!" Luke hollered as Will typed his password into his email account, waiting for his inbox to load.

"Oh yeah? You're a noisy thing, aren't you?"

"Just like his Daddy," Emma giggled, returning to her seat after quickly loading the dishwasher, leaving the pans to scrub later. "Isn't that right, baby boy?"

"Aaaayeoooo!"

"I've got a reply," Will stated with a deep breath, nuzzling his nose into Luke's shoulder before reading it out loud. "_Mr. Schuester, I've also taken note of the behaviors you stated concern over. I've been taking notes for the past week to show to our school psychologist. We'll probably come together as a team next week, along with her teacher from last year to talk about potential solutions. Once we've come up with something, we'll contact you and your wife for a meeting. For now, I think I'm going to set up a quiet corner, separate from time out, for Lily to go when she's having a meltdown. Hopefully this will teach her some self-soothing skills, as well as prevent the rest of the class from being disrupted. I'll speak with your wife on Monday after school to get more of an idea on how Lily acts at home. Thank you for expressing your concern. We'll be sure to get this sorted out as soon as possible_."

Emma was silent as she absorbed the words, contemplating them before stating. "That all sounds extremely reasonable."

Will seemed to let out a silent sigh upon her reaction. "I agree. Maybe she'll have you writing a journal like I did for the psychologist last summer. Whatever they do, it'll be better than nothing. We're going to jump through this hurdle." He eyed the time on his computer. "Lily's been alone for almost a half hour. We should probably check on her."

He deposited Luke in an exersaucer in his bedroom before knocking softly on his daughter's door. Emma opened it slowly, surprised to find the room dark. "Lily?"

The four-year-old in question was sitting on her naughty stool in the corner of the room, head hidden in her arms. Will turned on the light and the couple approached her slowly, not wanting to disturb her.

"Honey, it's Mommy and Daddy," Emma said softly, "Can you...Lily..." Her eyes widened as she noticed long clumps of red, curly hair on the floor in front of the stool. "Honey, sweetheart," She attempted to stay calm, "Look at me, Lily."

Will also spotted the small piles of hair and shook his head, mouth open in shock. "Lily Ann, please look at us."

Her little shoulders shuddered suddenly and her head shook violently in her arms. A loud wail resounded in the room and Emma took control of the situation by lifting Lily into her arms and removing her from the room, nodding for Will to follow them to the sofa, where she sat the preschooler down, gently finger combing her curls in attempt to discover where the strands had come from. Finding a quite small, yet noticeable patch of red skin on her daughter's scalp, Emma swallowed her own tears and met Lily's distressed gaze.

"Lily, why did you pull your hair out?"

"I'm sorry!" She screeched, covering her ears and rocking back and forth. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"No, no, don't be sorry, we're not mad," Will insisted, sitting next to her and pulling her little body closer to his, only to have her slide away. "Lily, baby, it's okay. No one is mad at you. We just want to understand why you did that."

Lily shook her head, "No!"

Emma met Will's face for a sign that he knew what to do with their daughter, but he appeared just as hopeless. "What would you like us to do for you, Lily?" Emma finally settled on asking, not wanting the four-year-old to grow more distressed with their attempts at consoling her.

"Go away!"

This was a new behavior, as Lily never wanted to be left alone. She craved the attention of her parents, no matter what the situation.

"We're not going anywhere," Will stated firmly. "We're going to help you, Lily."

"No help!" She threw her arm out, hitting Will in the chest, causing Emma to leap into action, grabbing Lily's arm with a light grip.

"We do not hit in this house," She said sharply. "Ever. Even if we're upset. We do not hit. Do you understand me?"

Lily squeezed her eyes shut and began screaming again, her face growing an angry red as she struggled to wrestle her wrist free. "Let _go_!"

Not giving in to the power struggle, Emma knelt taller and used her free hand to tip Lily's face down to meet her own. "Open your eyes and look at me, Lily."

"No!"

"Lily Ann," Will warned, "Listen to Mommy when she's speaking to you. Open your eyes, now."

"No!"

Neither parent knew what to do, but thankfully they didn't have to figure it out as Lily finally opened her eyes, red from crying, to meet Emma's. "Mommy, you don't love me," She whispered.

Emma released her arm and chin, then wound both her arms around the middle of her little girl. "Lily, I love you unconditionally. I love you if you cry, I love you if you scream, and I even love you if you pull your hair out. But sweetie, I need you to tell me _why_ you did that."

There were five minutes of silence until Lily finally answered the question, with her mother's arms still warm around her waist. "I had to."

"You had to pull your hair out?" Will questioned, trying to understand. "Why did you have to do it?"

"I had to."

"Did your head tell you to do it?" Emma asked, making the girl shrug. "Did your fingers just feel like they had to do it?" Again, another shrug and Lily squirmed out of her embrace, trying to crawl off the couch before being caught by Will and emitting another ear-piercing scream.

"Let go!" She commanded, kicking her legs furiously, but was met with no compliance as Will held her struggling body tightly, kissing the top of her head and whispering nonsense until her breathing evened out and her eyes dropped.

Emma finally stood up, shaking her head in defeat. "How about a bath, Lily?"

The four-year-old agreed for the first time that evening, accepting her mother's hand and following her down the hall. Will paused in Luke's room to ensure that the baby was content, rolling the round entertainment device into the master bedroom so he could keep an eye on his son and be present for his daughter in case another strange meltdown occurred in the bathtub. "No Luke!" Lily shouted when catching sight of her little brother while Emma undressed her and the water ran warm, with a capful of a soothing scented bubble bath.

"He's not going to come in here," Will assured her. "He's just going to hang out so he doesn't get lonely by himself."

"No!" Lily whined as Emma turned off the water and deposited the girl into the bath tub, where she splashed the water bitterly.

Will whispered that he was going to clean up the hair off of Lily's floor, and the mother asked him to take a picture and save the strands so they had proof when they talked to someone about the issue.

"Will do," He said softly, passing Luke with a silent prayer that they would never have to face the same issues with him.

"Mommy, I want to go to sleep!" Lily cried as Emma worked shampoo into her thick curls.

"Honey, when we're all done here, you may go to sleep. We'll brush your teeth and do a story—"

"No story! Just sleep!"

Emma bit her lip. The little girl in the bathtub was hardly a shadow of her daughter.

Nearly an hour later, after three additional tantrums and Will's failed attempt to get Lily to eat again, the four-year-old had fallen asleep on the love seat in her parent's bedroom, where the couple left her, intending on moving her into their bed so they would know if she woke up during the night.

Emma gave Luke a bath and fed him before putting him down in his crib, where he went without a fuss. She kissed him and whispered, "Thank you for being such a good baby," Before turning out his light and closing the door most of the way.

Will caught her in a long, much needed hug as she stepped out of the blue room, crying into his chest. He cried, too, and they held one another for the better part of ten minutes until Emma felt a lurch in her stomach and moved swiftly to the bathroom hallway to throw up.

Her husband joined her in the bathroom, pulling her hair into a fist and rubbing her back.

"You okay?" He questioned when she finished, earning a nod as she swished her mouth out before answering.

"I will be. I was sick when you left to get the kids, I think from the Xanax. This was probably just because I'm so overwhelmed...Will," Emma shook her head, admitting to herself what she should have long ago. "Lily is sick. She's really, really sick."

"If it happens again before we can get her to the doctor...I think we should take her to the emergency room. Whatever that was," He referred to the zip-lock bag of red curls on the counter, "It was not a normal meltdown. That behavior is dangerous, Emma. It was just hair this time...but thinking it could get worse? That's terrifying."

* * *

><p>Emma continued throwing up throughout Sunday and into Monday morning. Will insisted she stay home and he would leave during his second hour prep to take Lily to preschool, that she'd just have to sit quietly in his room until that time. Emma protested, but as another wave of nausea hit her, she agreed, promising to call the pediatrician when their office opened at eight.<p>

It was a battle getting Lily ready, as Sunday had been nothing but hysteria and tears. Will was now breaking her delicate morning routine and as he buckled her crying body into her car seat, he was beyond thankful that Emma would have a few hours of peace at home to hopefully recover while Lily stayed at school. He didn't care if she spent the entire day in her corner crying. He just knew that both he and his wife needed a break from the preschooler.

He entered the building with Lily crying into his shoulder and he stopped in the office to explain to his principal why he had the four-year-old with him in the first place.

She didn't react when the Indian man greeted her with a jolly, "Oh, Lily-flower! How are you my beautiful girl?"

"We're having some difficulties," Will admitted, receiving an understanding nod from Figgins, who was aware of the girl's mental condition. "Emma's been throwing up all morning and I didn't want her to have to deal with his. I hope you don't mind, she'll just sit through first hour, and I'll drop her off real quick—"

"Daddy, no!" Lily shrieked suddenly, aware of the conversation. "No, I don't want to go to school!"

She cried loudly, throwing her head back, only stopping, suddenly, with wide eyes when a resounding, "Shut that kid up, good lord!" Echoed through the office.

Will's eyes grew in size as well. That overbearing, commanding voice only belonged to one person.

He whipped his head around to see a tall blonde walking with a smirk towards him. "The key is making them fear you. Making them actually believe you just might," She reached a hand in Lily's direction, making the four-year-old flinch, "Hurt them. Children need to be frightened. It helps them learn their place."

"Sue...what the _hell_ are you doing here?" Will hissed, not caring about swearing in front of his daughter.

"Come off it, William, I'm obviously not here to destroy _you_ and your precious _Glee club_, since you failed that adventure without even needing my interference."

"You aren't allowed to teach anymore!"

"Oh, yes I am. Figgy, you haven't told our friend here about my new position?"

Figgins cringed and Lily scrambled out of Will's arms to hide behind his back, clutching his pant legs tightly. "William, Sue is now the acting head of the foreign language department."

"What the hell—?"

"Watch your language in front of the kid, _please_," Sue said with mock concern for the preschooler who was trembling in fear. "Although I'm not shocked to find you failing as a parent, just like you've failed in every—"

Will stood and was prepared to push Sue through the window if she dared make a comment about Lily. Thankfully, Figgins stepped in the middle of the long-time enemies. "Will, Sue has a formal letter from the governor reinstating her as a teacher. She has a new teaching certificate and after viewing her credentials, and since Mrs. Ramarez so suddenly passed away last month, the board of ed was forced to rehire her, and after a brief campaign, announce her position of authority."

"What does she have on them? What does she have on _you_? This is total bullsh—"

"Will! I won't ask again!" Sue demanded, eyes glued to Lily. "Please, do not use such harsh words in front of the innocent! Think of the _children_."

"She doesn't even speak another language!" Will shouted at Figgins, pointing to Sue with angry eyes.

"Au contraire," The former cheerleading coach contradicted his statement. "I'm fluent in French and the lost language of Elamite. I'm sure you've never heard of it, so allow me to explain, that Elamite was the language of the Persian Empire at the time when Alexander the Great was in charge. I learned this culture when studying for special forces to become a commanding officer. It was learning from one conquering champion to another. I know you've got one language on me, as you speak English, Spanish, are fluent in the sounds of aerosol hairspray, and failure, but—"

"Alright, Sue," Figgins pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, William, I know this change is going to be a bit disruptive for you, but it's something you've got to deal with. It's out of my hands."

"Isn't it always," The Spanish teacher said darkly, This isn't over," Will warned, lifting Lily into his arms where she molded to him. "I will not stand for this kind of injustice in this school."

He stormed out of the room, but not before Sue mumbled. "It's like looking at a tiny, pathetic, baby monkey on display at the zoo for the first time," In regard to Lily's frightened demeanor.

"That's it," Will shouted, turning on his heel, prepared to take his nemesis down for good when Figgins guided him out the door.

"Take Lily to your classroom and take time for both of you to calm down before your first class. We'll discuss this later."

In a move of fury, Will kicked the door open and marched down the hallway with a scowl he'd never worn before on his face.

"Daddy!" Lily cried when they entered his room. "I want to go home!"

"Me too," He whispered, putting her down on his desk while he threw himself into the chair, his head in his hands. "I want to go home too, baby."

* * *

><p>"Oh, gosh," Miss Kaypee's expression was unreadable as Will told her about Lily's hair pulling. "I'm going to call our psychologist right now, and I want you to explain this to her so we can try and resolve it right away. We certainly don't want a four-year-old hurting herself."<p>

Lily had seated herself on the floor of the hallway, her arms crossed, refusing to go into her classroom as her father and teacher spoke in low tones a few feet away from her.

"Baby, come here," Will said with open arms as the preschool teacher made a few phone calls. "Lily, now."

"No!" She shouted, scurrying to her feet and taking off running down the hall. Will, not one to give into a chase but not wanting to find out where his daughter intended on heading, tore off after her, catching her small, argumentative frame before she could turn the corner. She let out a blood-curdling scream and flailed her limbs, nearly giving Will a black eye as she fought against him.

Miss Kaypee grimaced as she returned to the hallway, motioning for the Schuester clan to follow her.

Lily yelled the entire way to the office, pushing against her father's chest and kicking his legs.

When they finally entered the room, the psychologist met Will's eyes in understanding and motioned for him to have a seat.

"Hello, Lily," The woman started off with a friendly greeting. "Do you remember me from last year? I'm Mrs. Riley."

"Go away!" The redhead screamed, continuing to kick her legs in anger.

"Mr. Schuester, it's obvious that this is a serious meltdown, yes?"

"Yes," Will sighed as Miss Kaypee locked the door so he could let Lily go. She threw herself to the floor and attempted to open the door, pounding it with her tiny fists when it wouldn't budge. "Up until last week, a meltdown meant she wanted my wife or I to hold her, to be with her, not to leave her...now she can't wait to get away from us, and..." He pulled out his phone, showing Mrs. Riley the pile of hair from two nights previous. "Saturday she pulled her hair out."

"Alright, this is quite serious, then...I have her notes from last year, and just skimming through them, I noted that she was on an SSRI? Is she still taking that?"

"No," Will responded, watching Lily fall to the floor and throw her head back. "It was only for about six weeks."

"Did it help?"

"I think it helped with her PTSD symptoms. She got over the car accident within that time. She'll still tell us to 'drive safely' quite often, but not like she was."

"It was a very low dose, so I doubt it helped the other parts of her anxiety. In any case, I'd like to have more of a chance to observe her behavior in the classroom before I do too much with her. I'm sure you've filled out some home reports before?" Will nodded. "I'll be sending something specific home with her today. My suggestion for the hair pulling would be to watch and see if it's an isolated incident. It could have been just a fluke thing, it's hard to say. We'll just have to keep a close watch on her. Once we start a regular therapy program, whatever that may be, we'll be able to target that behavior specifically, if it continues."

"I just don't understand...where she got the idea from and what possessed her to do it in the first place," Will sighed, pleading for answers.

Lily began kicking at the door rhythmically as the psychologist answered. "Hair picking is a nervous disorder, which isn't uncommon among kids with anxiety. It's more popular with adults, but Lily's issues aren't really typical in children in the first place. As for where she got the idea...it was probably just a neurological impulse. There's no reason for it. Especially for a four-year-old, whom I'm assuming hasn't been exposed to anything that would probe mutilation."

"God, no," Will shook his head as his daughter appeared to finally be giving up beating the door down, slumping to the floor indignantly.

"As I said, we'll monitor it. I'm going to spend the morning in Miss Kaypee's room taking notes on her behavior. I'll speak to you or your wife in the morning tomorrow when you drop her off."

"My wife was going to call her pediatrician today, too. We've noticed that she isn't...growing. She refuses to eat most of the time, and she's still wearing clothes from the spring before last."

Mrs. Riley took a long look at the tiny preschooler. "That could be attributed to her anxiety as well. Emotional state affects the physical development of children. If she's emotionally unstable, she's likely to flatline physically from the psychosocial aspect of her growth. The good news is, once we've got her on the right track mentally, the rest of her will catch up in no time."

Will stood and lifted the exhausted Lily into his arms, kissing her cheek, surprised that after all her struggling, she leaned into him, snuggling her face into his chest.

"Thank you, Mrs. Riley. I'm glad that you'll be helping us get to the bottom of this. Come on, Lily, let's go to your class."

Her eyes shot open and her head flew backwards in a primal cry. "No!" Her legs twitched, prepared to kick, but Will caught them with one hand while she remained supported on his side with the other.

"That's enough, sweetie," He said, surprised that he had any amount of patience left. He deposited her to Miss Kaypee, promising that he loved her and that Emma would be picking her up, then left the building and sat in his car.

He cried for half an hour before driving back to work.

* * *

><p>When Will arrived home that afternoon, his house was suspiciously quiet.<p>

Feeling a sense of panic, he moved through the hallway, stopping first at Lily's room to find it empty, then to Luke's to find the baby sleeping soundly in his crib.

Finally, he walked with urgency to the master bedroom, where Lily was asleep on his bed and the bathroom door was shut. He knocked quietly, not wanting to disturb his emotional daughter, and pushed back the wood to find Emma sitting on the floor with her head resting on her arms, much like Lily had been two days previous.

"Em? What—what's wrong?" He was afraid to ask, not sure if he could physically handle any more stress than he'd already been given.

"I'm sorry," She cried. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" He cupped her head and stroked her damp cheeks. "What happened?"

"L-look...at the...the counter. I wasn't...I wasn't trying. It shouldn't have...have been possible, I don't know...what...how...I, I'm so sorry, Will."

He swallowed hard as his eyes fell onto three separate, white sticks, resting on paper towel. They all presented him with the same horrifying message. In the back of his mind, he registered Emma continuing to apologize, but he couldn't comprehend her words as he stared numbly before him.

"Emma...what the hell are we going to do?"

She clutched a hand around her stomach as she cried. "I don't know," She muttered.

Will sank down next to her on the tile, staring into the light and willing himself to wake up from the nightmare that was his life.

Emma turned her face towards his and gave him the most apologetic expression she could muster. "I'm so sorry, Will. This is the last thing we need right now. Where are we going to put another baby? How are we going to afford it? What if it's like Lily—?"

Will didn't know how to put her mind at ease with his words. Instead, he reached into her lap, took her right hand in his left and squeezed it tight.

* * *

><p>Thank you for joining me in the continuation of the Beautiful series! Be prepared for some angst! Also a big thank you to <em><strong>jaymafans<strong>_ and _**tenseconds**_ for helping me with this, and be sure to check out tenseconds' AU fic _Rescue Me_ because it is so damn addicting!

I hope you can stick with the story even through it's angst! I promise there will be some lighter moments in the next chapter. Also, if you are interested, there is a link to an OC character list in my profile page. Unfortunately I've had to create a vast amount of them as RIB have given us little to work with in regard to outside Wemma's world at school. If you're trying to recall who someone is, just take a look there!

Thanks again for reading! A new chapter is already finished, and it is full of surprises; including a heartbreaking decision for Will and Emma, along with Sue's true intentions! Check back in a week or so!


	2. Chapter 2

Light smut warning

Will and Emma sat on the tile floor of the bathroom for over an hour, neither adult knowing what to say or do. Finally, Will kissed Emma's temple, nuzzling his nose into her hair. "Don't blame yourself for this. We were both selfish."

Her voice was hoarse as she spoke, her eyes betraying her emotions as she kept them free of tears. "I took the Xanax on Friday. What if it—"

"Emma," He breathed her name, cupping her face in his hands and turned to face her head on. "You only took it once. It's okay. I'm sure nothing will come of it. We'll set up an appointment with Dr. Romano as soon as possible to be sure, though, alright?"

She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Will. I'm so sorry. I wish that this wasn't happening. We don't need the stress of another child—"

"Don't blame the baby for bad timing. It's not the its fault that we were reckless." Will raised a serious brow, not wanting to make a big issue about something they couldn't control, when there were circumstances in their life that they could realistically do something about.

Emma agreed solemnly and changed the topic. "Lily will be seeing the doctor tomorrow at four. I made it late so you could come if you want to."

"I do," Will responded, resting his curly mop on top of hers. "How was she in school after I left?"

Emma brought her hand to her face and rubbed her eyes. "Miss Kaypee set her up the quiet corner. She wasn't liking it. She hit one of the assistants in the face when she was being moved there after throwing a fit when she was told to clean up her Little People. The lady started to do it for her and that didn't go well. Once they got her in the corner, she stayed there, but she was shrieking and screaming the entire time, causing more of a disruption than usual. When I came to pick her up, she ran out of the room and down the hall. She didn't want to see me."

"Where did she go?" Will asked, playing with his wife's fingers as she sighed, explaining the rest of the story.

"To the gym. It was like cornering a wild animal. She was so _scared_ and I don't know why. We had enough people helping, including a few lunch aides, that we were able to have all the doors covered so she couldn't get out. Eventually, Miss Kaypee and I sat in the middle of the floor and let her come to us. It took fifteen minutes."

"Where is she getting this from?" He exasperated, frustrated to no end. "It's not like she's seen anything on TV that would prompt her to behave this way. She was in a pretty calm group of kids last year...maybe it was daycare..."

"I don't know where it's coming from. All I know is that when she finally did come to us, she hit me on the arm and said, 'go away,' before attempting to take off. Thankfully, I had a reflex that came out of nowhere and pinned her down. I had to carry her to the room, where Sarah had been entertaining Scott and Luke while we chased Lily down. She took him to the car for me while I buckled Lily in, which was another adventure. I made sure all the child locks were on in the car so if she got out of her seat, she couldn't get out of the car. When we got home, I left her strapped in while I ran inside and dead bolted all the doors, I've never been more glad that we put those in...there wasn't a chance she'd be able to reach them, so when I finally did get her inside, she had nowhere to go. She screamed and ran around, eventually getting downstairs. Since I figured there was nothing down there for her to get into, I thought she'd be okay by herself to cool off instead of continuing the chase. I got Luke settled and went down to check on her, to find she'd gotten into the storage shelves and emptied all the bins she could reach. Thankfully it was only her old clothes that didn't fit, but they were everywhere."

"Oh my god, Em...I'm so sorry you have to do this alone, if there were anyway I could be home with you..."

She sent him a pitiful smile and agreed silently. "I called Sarah. She brought Scott over and fed Luke while I dealt with Lily in the basement. I locked the baby gate at the bottom of the steps and she got extremely frustrated that she couldn't get away from me. I just sat calmly in the middle of the floor until she came to me. It was shortly after she saw that I wasn't chasing her that she started crying instead of screeching. After almost an _hour_, Will, an hour of it, she came into my lap and fell asleep. I brought her upstairs and put her in our bed, where she's been ever since. Then it was my turn to meltdown and Sarah held me while Scott played with Luke in his room. If it hadn't been for them, I probably wouldn't have made it through the day."

"When did you...do this...?" He referred to the pregnancy tests on the countertop.

"After they left. I had a horrible, sinking suspicion when you left this morning and stopped by the pharmacy on my way to get Lily. Needless to say, it was probably the most difficult day of parenting I've had in about three years."

Will's arms snaked around her and brought them both to their feet. "I'm sorry you're stuck here with it, Em. I wish I could help you." He brushed her hair behind her ears and kissed her forehead. "I love you. And don't panic about the baby right now. We've got a few months to figure out what we're going to do about it. For now, we really need to focus on Lily."

They hugged in comfortable silence before Emma whispered, "Thank you," Into his ear.

He kissed her neck and asked, "For what?"

"For being here. For not getting mad about the baby. For loving me after all this."

Will didn't respond in words, but dropped his lips to meet hers in a long, loving kiss before breaking them apart and moving to help her get dinner started.

They were speaking in low tones about Will's day, where he announced that Sue was back in town and Emma went on a small tangent about the gross unfairness of it all. Everything was going smooth until a cry came from the doorway.

Lily was standing with her hands over her eyes and Emma rushed to her side, putting to rest the earlier madness the girl had caused. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"My tummy hurts!" She shouted, "I didn't mean to!"

Will lifted her into his arms and rubbed her back. "Didn't mean to what, honey?"

"I-I-I," Lily stuttered, "I throwed up on, on, on the bed!" She wailed, hiding her face in shame.

"Accidents happen, sweetheart. We're not mad about it," He passed Lily to Emma, heading to try and clean up the mess as best he could before tossing the quilt into the washer. His wife rocked the upset four-year-old without moving until Will returned with empty hands, "See? It'll come out. It's okay, Lil."

Lily pushed away from her mother and squirmed until she was placed on her feet, where she slumped into her room and closed the door.

"Oh no," Emma refused to leave the unpredictable preschooler by herself. She opened the door and saw the signs of Lily prepared to turn into the animalistic beast she'd been in the afternoon, her brown eyes losing their innocence and turning a dark shade of primal instinct. "Lily, come here. Help Daddy and I get dinner made."

"No!" She shrieked, darting around Emma and moving into the hallway, where Will caught her and carried her screaming, thrashing fame to the kitchen, where he sat her in Luke's high chair, quickly adjusting the straps to fit her small waist.

"Can we restrain our own child?" Emma mumbled and Will shrugged, unsure of what else they could do to prevent Lily from running away or hurting herself.

"Sh, sh," Will mumbled, taking her hands into his own, though she tried to pull them away. Emma moved behind the girl, stroking her hair and rubbing the parts of her shoulders that were reachable in the highchair.

"It's okay, baby girl, it's okay."

"No! No! No! Let me go! Go away!" As with earlier in the day, when Lily realized she wasn't going to win the battle, her screams turned to cries and after a brief continuation of the struggle, she slumped and gave up.

"There we go, sweet pea." Will unbuckled is daughter and brought her into his arms, rocking her slowly and kissing her face. "Feel better, baby?"

She didn't respond to him, but she didn't push away from him either. Meanwhile, down the hall, sounds of Luke becoming distressed disturbed Emma from her daughter. Will nodded her into the nursery as he continued to hold Lily.

"Baby boy, did all that noise upset you?" She asked sympathetically, quickly changing her son and cuddling him to her chest where he calmed instantly, seeking to be fed. "Mommy will feed you, hold on. Let's just make sure nothing burned while we were dealing with your sissy, okay? We don't want that."

She declared the kitchen safe as Will had seated himself in one of the dining chairs, still keeping their perplexed daughter in his arms. Stirring everything on the stove before turning off one of the burners, Emma sat next to him, nursing Luke, who was receiving an evil eye from his sister.

"No. Luke." Lily demanded, sitting up.

"Yes, Luke," Will retorted, keeping his grip on her firm. "He's your little brother and he lives here. Mommy has to take care of him, too."

"No!"

"We're not arguing over this, Lily. Luke is going to stay in Mommy's arms while she feeds him. It's going to be okay."

"No! No! No! Let go! Go away!" She repeated her mantra from before, but to no avail.

"There's nothing we can do about it. You'll just have to—" Will was cut off when Lily hit him square in the jaw, much to both parent's surprise. Her face showed no signs of remorse.

"We do not hit in this house, we do not hit at school, we do not hit ever," Emma commanded. Lily climbed off of Will as he mistakenly dropped an arm from holding her. She marched up to her mother with a look of determination. "Do you understand? I said we do not—Lily!" Emma gasped when the four-year-old's arm came with a sudden swat to her baby brother's head, causing Luke to detach from Emma's breast and scream loudly in shock.

Will grabbed the back of Lily's shirt as she made an attempt to run and Emma lifted Luke to her shoulder, rubbing the place that was injured and whispering in his ear, attempting to make him calm down. Will brought his daughter back to the table, forcing her to look at Luke. "Look what you did, Lily. You made Luke cry. We do not hit in this house and we especially do not hit babies! This is not okay! We are _very_ upset with you."

Luke continued to wail and Emma stood, moving towards the nursery in an attempt to calm him. Will had no idea what to do with Lily, as his yelling was clearly having no effect on her behavior. "Do you understand? We do not hit!"

She screeched at the very top of her lungs for several minutes straight when Will's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and felt a swell of relief in his chest when the neighbor's number lit up.

"Could you use some help over there?" Sarah's tone was cautious, as she didn't want to overstep her boundaries.

"Please," He said, panicky, and she was over in an instant, meeting his lost expression.

"Is Luke in the nursery?"

"Yes," Will responded, struggling to keep Lily from lashing out at the neighbor. "Lily whacked him, Emma's got him—"

"I'll calm him and the two of you work together on this one?" She offered.

He nodded her down to the baby's room, where Emma was rocking her son with tears rolling down her cheeks. Sarah smiled sympathetically and crouched to place both hands on her best friend's knees, brushing the hair from her face. "Let me take him; you help Will with your daughter."

Emma gave a watery nod and passed the five-month-old to her new hero, stepping back into the living room, where Will had Lily locked in his embrace in front of the front door, his back against it and both arms around his shrill daughter's body.

"Baby, baby," Emma said in a sing-song voice, now completely desperate to calm her child. "Baby, it's just Mommy and Daddy. It's okay. It's okay." She moved her hand out to stroke Lily's face, only to pull her hand back quickly when the girl latched her jaw around it, biting down hard on the surface of Emma's skin. "No, no...Lily...gosh, sweetheart, please...settle down. It's okay, it's okay."

She shook her hand, willing the stinging sensation to go away and trying again with the other side of her body to make physical contact with her.

"Be nice," Will warned as his wife took Lily's chin, stroking underneath it in a manner she hoped would be soothing. Lily stopped screaming, but her eyes still bore a dangerous, feral gaze. "There we go...no more screaming. Sh, stay calm, sweetheart. We're not going to hurt you. It's okay. You're just fine."

The phrase_ it's okay_, seemed to fall into every shade of their life. Everything was always _okay_. Lily was okay, despite her emotional disturbances. Emma was okay, even though she'd faced something similar and was now expecting a third child she wasn't prepared for. Luke was okay, given his family crumbling around him and every other element of his life that was completely beyond his five-month-old range of control. Finally, Will was okay, though his life was in shambles every direction he turned, he was _okay_.

Their family was always okay. Never good, never great. Never over the moon with happiness, never besides themselves with joy. For four years, they'd been okay.

But now, both parents were questioning how much longer they'd be able to stay that way.

"Honey, Daddy isn't going to let go of you until you relax. We can't have you hurting yourself or one of us. We need you to calm down."

Lily's muscles seemed to be melting into Will's embrace, and from Emma's point of view, her expression was slowly losing its wildness. Some part of her mind was registering that it was her parents before her, who loved her no matter what, and only wanted to help her.

"Daddy," Her little voice perked up out of nowhere. "If you let me go, I promise I'll be a good girl."

"You promise?" He asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah. I'll not run away."

He slowly released her, and true to her word, Lily did not run away. Instead, she climbed onto Emma's lap, where she stuck index and middle finger into her mouth, a grumpy grimace on her face as she reached up with her other hand and stroked the lace top of Emma's camisole..

"Will you talk to us about...that?" Her mother questioned, with which she was met no response, not even a head shake.

"We still love you, Lily Ann," Will assured her. "No matter what you tell us, or what you do. We are _always_ going to love you."

Still, the preschooler remained silent and Emma didn't want a repeat of the episode that had just occurred. Giving in, just as Lily wanted, both parents rose and Lily remained in Emma's arms, not snuggling into her, but close nonetheless. "Let's see if dinner's any good," Will suggested, moving to the kitchen where a pot of rice had steamed without problem, and a pan of stir-fry found the vegetables a little crisp on one side, but not beyond eating.

"I'm going to sit you down at the table to eat," Emma said authoritatively, putting food on a plate for Lily to eat before making one up for both Will and herself. "I'm going to see Luke, if you could sit here with her?" She whispered in passing, receiving a nod.

Sarah was on the floor with Luke, giving him tummy time, making the baby laugh as she played peek-a-boo with several toys and a blanket. The little boy was stunned each time she pulled up the blanket to see objects beneath it. His eyes lit up when Emma walked through the door, and his little arms and legs flailed in excitement as he lay on his belly.

The exhausted mother sat down next to Sarah, falling face first into her waiting embrace, crying without a care of doing so into the woman's shoulder. She had become Emma's dearest, most trusted friend. She could speak to her about anything and everything without being judged, but offering kind words of gentle advice. There were things she'd like to tell her sister, Annie, but with fear of her parents finding out and tearing her apart, Emma couldn't risk it. Many of her marital struggles over the summer could have been shared with Terri, but Emma didn't want her husband's former wife to know they were experiencing such difficulties. Sarah was the only one she'd learned to trust with a secret.

"Let it out, Em," The blonde muttered into her neighbor's ear. "I know...you are just dealing with too much right now."

"I-I'm pregnant," She confessed, feeling Sarah tense in surprise. "Again!" She sobbed, "I can't do this, Sarah, it's just too much!"

The other woman didn't have much of a response apart from continuing to hold her friend and stroke her hair, letting her cry. "You are the strongest person I know," She stated, "I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. After everything you and Will have been through...you're still managing to wake up every morning and do this. You're exhausted and feeling defeated, but you still go on every day. You're stronger than everyone else gives you credit for. You've got to hold on, babe. You can make it through this. You guys will figure out what's wrong with Lily. Luke is going to be fine. Your new baby is going to be a precious miracle. You're going to come out of this nightmare and you'll be better for it."

"Sarah, I-I can't thank you enough—"

"And you don't have to," She smiled and pulled away from Emma. "How about we take the kids in together tomorrow morning, and we'll go out for lattes after?"

Emma smiled a little, nodding. "That sounds great. I know I should stay away from the caffeine, but I think I'm going to have to make an exception."

"And of course we'll have this little guy to keep us company, isn't that right," Sarah tickled Luke under his chin, making the baby giggle again. "Oh you're just a happy little booger, hm? I didn't mean to burst into your house like this. I'd just gotten home from karate with Nick and your windows were open and it sounded pretty serious—"

"I'm glad you did. I don't know that I could have calmed her down if Luke was upset. Thank you, so much, Sarah."

"Anytime...Do you want me to take him to my house for a few hours so you can try and get Lily settled down for the night and not have to worry about him?"

"Oh, it's okay, you don't have to—"

"It wasn't really a question," Sarah smirked and opened the diaper bag on the top shelf of the changing table, ensuring there were enough diapers to last a few hours, along with a can of formula and a few empty bottles. "We'll be all set. Just call when you've got her sleeping and I'll bring him right back. Scottie will be very excited to have his 'little brother' over. And you know Paul doesn't care. He'll just cuddle him while he falls asleep. Don't worry about a thing."

After extensively thanking the blonde, Emma watched them walk across the lawn and locked the front door once more before turning to the kitchen to find Will attempting to get Lily to eat, who looked like she hadn't budged since she'd been placed in the seat. Her two fingers were still latched between her lips, and her eyes were blank.

Emma sat at the table, squeezing Will's hand underneath it. "Lily, are you eating your dinner? You must be awful hungry since you didn't eat breakfast or lunch today. And whatever was in your tummy you threw up, so I think it would be a good idea if you had at least a few bites of food."

Still, the girl was silent. Emma ignored her, hoping to prevent further frustration, and worked on eating her own meal, despite her own stomach feeling distressed. Morning sickness was so wrongly named.

"Daddy, I have a headache," Lily finally spoke nearly five minutes later, though it was difficult to understand with her fingers in her mouth.

"I'm sorry to hear that, baby. I could give you medicine, but you'd have to eat first. It's against the rules on the box for me to give it to you without you having food in your tummy."

At this answer, the four-year-old pushed her plate in front of her and placed her arms on the table, her head resting on them.

"Honey, I'm not trying to be mean," Her father insisted, reaching his hand to rest on her shoulders. "You'll get sick if you take medicine and you don't have anything in your stomach. I don't want you to throw up again."

Lily began to cry softly and Emma had finally had enough of not being able to comfort the girl. She pushed back her chair and lifted her daughter into a hug before carrying her to Luke's room, where she rocked her slowly, cradling her as she'd done years ago when Lily was upset.

Will followed, sitting on the ottoman portion of the gliding chair and taking his little girl's hand. "Lily, you know how much we love you, right?" A smirk tugged on his lips. "Should I sing the _Lily_ song?"

Emma felt the same rush of happiness as she prepared to sing something they'd made up when Lily was having a difficult time with toilet training. "I think we should...Lily, Lily...My baby girl is silly, silly. I love her so. Lily, Lily...My baby girl is pretty, pretty. Lily, Lily—"

"No, Mommy," She mumbled, turning into her mother's chest and clutched onto her shirt again, rubbing it between her fingers. "Can you just rock me?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Is there anything else I can do for you? Anything I can get? Something to eat? Please tell me what I can do that will make you happy and feel better."

She didn't say anything, but her silence instead of tears was enough to ensure the couple that she was going to be alright for the rest of the evening.

Once she was passed out on the queen sized bed in the main bedroom, Emma called Sarah and quickly picked up her son, exhausted at the emotionally grueling day she'd had. After giving the boy a quick bath and feeding him, he was tucked in for the night, and Emma moved to do the same.

* * *

><p>The next day, dropping Lily off at school had been nearly a replica of picking her up. Catching her once she got loose was a daunting task. For safety reasons, the classroom couldn't be locked from the inside, so once she was within the walls of the preschool, it was all the teacher and aides could do to keep her in. But once the day officially began, Emma and Sarah left quickly, needing time away from the madness to try and sort through it. Latte's ordered and seats chosen at a Starbucks a few blocks away, the women were left to discuss Lily's sudden twist in mental state and Emma's third baby.<p>

"I guess I never realized how lucky I was to not conceive after Scott was born. We were never cautious. I guess my hormones were working better than yours, unfortunately." Sarah started as they sat at a table in the corner of the coffee shop, away from the rest of the customers.

"I just can't figure out where we'll put a third child! At first, it won't be a problem...but they're going to grow...I don't know how we're going to afford it. We're barely going to make it with two kids and myself not working. Three would be _impossible_."

"I hear you on that. It's only been two months since I've been laid off and we're already thinking of pulling Nick out of karate. It's so expensive, and not having that extra income is just...really beating on us. He'll be so disappointed...but yeah, I can't imagine trying to do a family of five with one paycheck. It'll be challenging, that's for certain. And I wouldn't stress too much about where to put the baby...I'd say boy or girl, keep it in Luke's room for a few years. They'll be close enough in age that it won't matter for awhile. If it were to be a girl, I would certainly wait a good couple of years before trying to have Lily share a room...yikes."

"Lily," Emma breathed, rubbing her temples. "It all went to hell last week when she started school. You saw her throughout the summer! I mean, she was a whiny mess, but nothing...nothing like this. She's completely lost her mind. I just hope it's not too late to get it back."

"Oh, you'll get it figured out, I'm sure. Once the school makes a plan, they'll stick to it. I have faith that this is all going to work out. Thankfully, she hasn't hurt anyone too seriously, I mean...hitting Luke and pulling her hair isn't acceptable, but it could be worse."

And it got worse. The women were talking for over an hour when Sarah received a call from the school. "Hello? He what? Oh my god...is he alright? Does he need to go to the hospital, do you think? ...Well, that's my Scottie...but yeah, I'll be there as soon as possible." She hung up and shook her head. "Scottie got hit in the face and stabbed in the arm with scissors. Thankfully they were blunt and Miss Kaypee doesn't think he needs stitches, but you can't be too sure—"

She was cut off by Emma's phone ringing and both women's hearts dropped. It was clear in an instant who had been the one to assault Scott.

"H-Hello?" Emma breathed into the phone, closing her eyes and willing herself not to cry as Sarah buckled Luke into his baby seat and threw their trash away. "Yes...what, um...what kind of incident. Oh, god...yes, I'm on my way. I'm so sorry..."

The phone dropped from her hands and Emma let out a long sob as Sarah gathered her into a hug before scurrying to her van which they'd ridden in together. "Em, it's okay. Scottie's fine, and it probably wasn't all Lily's fault. He's a stinker when he wants to be—"

"My daughter stabbed someone. With scissors. I don't care if they were made of fabric! This is not okay...I don't...I don't...I can't..." Her breathing increased and Sarah talked her down from the panic attack as they pulled into the school.

"Emma, look at me. Scottie's a tough kid. He'll be fine. Lily is a little bit off right now. But they are going to get her help. It's all going to be okay. Let's go inside and hug our kids, let Lily apologize, take them home and pop in a Disney movie for them to fall asleep to. Alright?"

"...How can you be so calm?" Emma breathed, her eyes wide with fear for her child and the guilt that came along with being the mother of the perpetrator. "My daughter just stabbed your son!"

Sarah placed a strong hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yeah, but he's fine. I know what Lily is going through. I've seen it first hand. There's no use in getting upset at something beyond your control, Em."

Beyond her control...everything in Emma's life thus far had been beyond her comfort zone when it came to being the authority over circumstances. From her birth family to the one she was raising, the cards had never been stacked in her favor. For someone with issues when it came to being in control, these facts haunted Emma daily.

They rushed into the school, with Sarah, being the more aggressive and stable of the two, carrying Luke and pushing her way into the classroom, where the only children in it were Scott and Lily. The others had been sent outside in an emergency recess with another group of preschoolers. An aide sat with Scott at a table, fussing over his eye with an ice pack and keeping a tight grip on his bleeding arm with a gauze pad.

Meanwhile, Lily was being held firmly by Miss Kaypee, while Mrs. Riley attempted to talk her down from the screaming fit she was having. Sarah set Luke's seat on a table, where he cooed and kept himself entertained while she moved with haste towards her son.

"Hey, Momma!" He said casually, waving with the arm that wasn't held in a vice grip. Not a trace of tears or pain were present on his face.

"Hey, my big, brave boy! How are you feeling?"

He shrugged and stated, "Pretty well. Except my eye hurts, just a little. And my arm. But it's not so bad. I've got hurt worse when I fell down the stairs, remember? That hurt."

"Oh, do I ever. Can Momma have a look at your cut?" She pleaded, having the aide remove the gauze from Scott's arm. "Oh, that'll be fine. You don't need stitches, right? We'll just put some stingy-spray on it and a bandaid and you'll be all set. You're probably going to have a nice black eye tomorrow, though. But you know what? That'll just make you look like a really super tough guy."

"I am a super tough guy!" He laughed, leaning forward to snuggle into Sarah's chest.

Meanwhile, Emma didn't know what to do with her daughter, who'd made eye contact with her, but again, her orbs showed no resemblance to the little girl Emma loved. They were untamed and wild, indicating that the four-year-old could snap at any moment.

"Mrs. Schuester," Miss Kaypee grunted as Lily threw her head back in a loud yell. "Is there anything you could suggest to stop this behavior?"

"Honestly?" Emma sighed and sat down next to them, attempting to take Lily's hand but was nearly bitten again in the process. "We went through this last night, too. She eventually wore herself out and went to sleep," A few tears dribbled down the mother's face. "I don't know what to do."

"I don't want to see Lily popping pills," The psychologist interrupted, "But I do believe that getting her on something to stop this behavior when it happens is extremely wise."

"We're going to the doctor this afternoon. I'm going to ask for something." Emma admitted, ashamed that she couldn't control her child's behavior enough to keep her off medication.

Lily finally stopped screaming a few minutes later, when Scott wandered over to her and took her hand. "Lily, don't be sad. I love you. It's okay. I'm not mad at you for hurting me. I'm gonna be okay."

The darkness in her eyes was instantly replaced by guilt when the little boy wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek. She stopped screaming and started sobbing.

"It's okay, Lily. You're still my bestest friend in the whole wide world. I forgive you."

After five minutes of intense, fat tears, Lily's hysterics turned to hiccups and her body relaxed in Miss Kaypee's arms. "That's a good girl," The teacher whispered, stroking the girl's hair. "That's better. Nice and calm."

"Come here, sweetheart," Emma sighed, opening her arms for Lily to crawl into. She didn't move on her own, but didn't flinch or retaliate when placed into her mother's lap. "I love you, baby girl."

Sarah took a seat on the floor next to them and the aide that had been keeping Scott stable moved to give Luke attention as the teacher and psychologist had a mock parent-teacher conference with the women. "Unfortunately, we've got to send them both home for the rest of the day, as school policy states. Lily is going to be 'suspended' until Thursday," Miss Kaypee said, using finger quotes. "Scottie can come back tomorrow, if he wants. On Friday, after we've had another more day of observation, provided it's relatively incident-free, we'll have a conference with you and your husband, Mrs. Schuester. We'll decide then what's best for Lily."

"Alright," Emma agreed, standing up with the limp frame of her daughter in her arms. "Let's get going then so you can get back to your day. I'm so, so, so sorry about all this. If I could do something—"

Mrs. Riley put a hand on Emma's upper arm. "We're _going_ to do something. We'll get to the bottom of this. Lily is lucky, because she has amazing parents like you and her Dad. Most kids that come into my office don't have that. She's going to be okay, I assure you."

After signing a few forms saying they wouldn't be suing the school, Emma and Sarah helped their children into the van, where Lily struggled in her car seat before giving up and crying once more. "Baby, please...just...enough," Emma muttered into her ear as she rubbed her daughter's legs, praying for her to calm down. "It's alright. We'll be home in ten minutes."

When they arrived in the Guire's driveway, Lily had stopped crying and stuck her fingers in her mouth again. "Would you like to come over and watch movies with Scottie, peanut?" Sarah questioned the girl. Lily didn't respond with words, but nodded her head once firmly. "We'll put in whatever one you want, okay?"

Scott unbuckled himself and climbed up from the back seat, pausing at Lily to give her a kiss. "We can watch _Tinkerbell_ if you want," He offered, even though it was one of his lesser favorite movies.

"No. You pick." Emma released her from the child restraint and placed the four-year-old on her hip, carrying her on one side and Luke's baby seat in the elbow of the other.

"How 'bout _Dalmatians_?" He suggested as they entered the house, Luke grunting from sitting for so long without being held.

"Quiet," Lily said harshly, glaring at the five-month-old.

Emma didn't bother reprimanding her daughter, knowing it would only cause a battle that she didn't have the strength to fight. Instead, she made sure the front door was latched tightly and put Lily down.

"Scottie, let me get you set up with a bandaid, okay?" Sarah requested.

The blonde boy ran after his mother into the bathroom and just as Emma was about to take her son out of his carrier, Lily's lower lip trembled and she fell to the floor in tears. Emma bit back her frustration and rubbed Lily's back. "Baby girl, what is it?"

"I hurt Scottie, Mommy. I hurt him really bad."

"Yes, you did," Emma felt a sense of relief as the little girl began to actually feel remorseful for her actions. "You hurt him with scissors. You made his blood come out. And you gave him a big boo-boo on his eye. That is not nice, and that is not what best friends do to each other."

"But I love Scott! He's my favorite!" Lily quivered on the tile walkway.

Emma, desperate to see her logic, asked, "Why did you hurt him, sweetie?"

"Cause! He said I was colorin' wrong! He said I was gonna go outta the lines! I couldn't mess it up! And he said he'd help. And I didn't want no help! And he put his hand out and said, 'give me your crayon!' and I said 'no!' and he said, 'i'll cut my paper then, can I have your scissors?' and Mommy I don't know why I was so mad! I put them in his arm! And his blood was everywhere! And he yelled at me and said, 'what are you doing?' and I made my hand a fist and hit him in the eye! I was so mean to him! And then I ran out of the room and Mrs. Riley catched me and Miss Kaypee holded me down and told me I couldn't hurt kids and I bit them and hit them and I wanted to run away forever 'cause I hurt Scott!"

Emma could deal with the issues of teenagers — a gift that few individuals possessed. But when it came to her preschooler, she was completely at a loss for how to handle her problems. "Honey, you know what? It was wrong, what you did, but Scott is okay, and he forgives you. He's not mad at you. In fact, he wants to play with you once Sarah gets him all fixed up. What you did was bad. But it's over now."

Lily pulled herself to her knees and shoved her fingers in her mouth before reaching to Emma's shirt and playing with the collar. "I am a bad girl," She mumbled.

"No, you're not a bad girl. You just did a bad thing. That doesn't make you bad all over."

Scott came running into the hallway with a large bandage on his arm, but a wide smile on his face. "Ready to watch the puppies?"

Lily followed him silently to the sofa, where he pulled himself up and reached a hand out to help his friend. She sat next to him and they both waited patiently for Sarah to set the DVD up. Once it was on, Emma turned her attention to her son, lifting Luke into her arms and snuggling him, nuzzling her nose into his neck and kissing his cheeks. "I'm sorry you got neglected, baby boy."

He slurred vowel sounds and Sarah nodded Emma to the kitchen, where they both sighed deeply and took a few minutes to collect themselves. "Is it too early for a drink?" The blonde asked, reaching into the refrigerator for a bottle of wine. "I don't think so."

"I wish I could, but..." She looked down at her stomach, wishing to no end that it was all just a dream.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry, Em." She poured her glass and downed it quickly, shaking her head. "Nothing worse than cold wine, I swear, I don't know why Paul keeps it in the fridge...anyway...Oh, Lukie...he's just too cute for words," Sarah cooed as she watched the baby nuzzle into his mother's chest, gurgling happily as Emma rubbed his back. "Did you make an appointment with the OB this morning?"

"It's tomorrow afternoon," Emma nodded and pulled out a chair to sit on, in a location that she had a good view of her daughter, who didn't seem to be watching the movie, but curled up with her head in Scott's lap as she stared into space, his fingers petting her hair absentmindedly. "Sar," She whispered, pointing, making the other mother's heart melt as she worked for the phone in her pocket and zoomed in in the tiny couple with her phone, snapping a picture.

"Too freakin' cute," The mom shook her head and laughed. "Oh, they're going to be the cutest couple some day. Prom king and queen at McKinley, I'm sure."

"Provided Lily's not institutionalized by then," Emma chided darkly, her fingers tracing circles on Luke's back.

* * *

><p>"She <em>stabbed<em> him?"

"Yeah," Emma said into the phone, "I can't really...describe it at the moment, because I'm being given the stare down, but...they're both fine. Eating popsicles right now. First bite she's had in days, thankfully Sarah freezes some natural smoothie mix, so it's all real fruit."

Will huffed and leaned back in his desk chair, glaring at the clock and wishing he could leave work. "I'm just a bit in shock, Em. I'm sorry...I was calling to tell you a horror story about Sue, but I guess you one upped me. I've got to get going, lunch is over in five minutes and I need to run off a few sheets, but I'll see you at four, alright?"

"Yeah. Sarah's going to keep Luke while we take her. We pretty much owe her our lives right now. But I'll see you in a few hours. Love you."

He rubbed his eyes and mumbled the phrase back, ending the conversation.

"What, one of your animal children escape?" Sue teased, with no clue how close to reality she was.

"You could say that," Will agreed, not making eye contact with the woman. "Sue, I really don't need this right now."

"Sure you do, buddy. I'm watching you teach this afternoon."

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow. "Afraid you're not doing a good enough job? Need ideas from a pro?"

"No, I'm doing a start of the year evaluation. As department head, it's my duty to see to it that all my underlings are making strides towards perfection in their craft. And from the looks of things, you haven't had a teaching evaluation since before you married the lemur. So, be on your best behavior. If I mark anything as needing improvement and it doesn't improve by May...well, let's just say you might want to see if an office job at H.W. Manken is looking for a new employee. You'll need it. Adios, muchacho."

As she left, Will stood, pacing the back of the classroom until his patience wore out and he took out his aggression on his desk chair by kicking it across the room with a loud yell.

* * *

><p>"Thirty-one inches...oh, you're still just a little peanut aren't you?" A nurse cooed at Lily who sent a glare in the woman's direction. "Can you step on the scale for me, kiddo?"<p>

She didn't move and Will lifted her onto the measuring device, where she stood rigid as the digital numbers spat out, "Twenty-nine pounds, Mom and Dad...okay, let's have your hearing tested."

"No!" Lily shouted, prepared to take off down the hall. Noticing her signs of flight, Will lifted her to his shoulder and quickly argued with the nurse.

"It's not going to be worth the battle," He insisted. "We're here to talk to the doctor about other things, not her ears."

The woman blinked and cringed, feeling a sense of obligation to her job, but with the eyes of a four-year-old staring so darkly at her, she backed off, taking the family to an examination room.

"Mommy, my tummy hurts," Lily said suddenly as they entered the sterile environment. "Mommy! I want to go!"

"Sh, sh," Emma comforted, brushing the girl's messy hair from her face. "Baby, I know. It'll be real quick when the doctor gets here, okay?"

"No! Mommy...I-I—"

Recognizing the symptoms of her daughter becoming ill, Emma carried her to the sink, where she expelled the popsicle she'd eaten earlier that day. When she finished, Lily burst into tears and clung to her mother like the monkey Sue claimed her to be.

"Oh, my goodness! Is that really my Lily Schuester?" A kind, older pediatrician asked, stepping into the room. "She's so grown up and beautiful! Why are you crying my dear?"

She didn't respond but melted further into Emma's hold as the doctor approached the table she sat on. "We're having a very, very difficult time right now," The mother warned, shaking her head. "We've got to do something."

* * *

><p>All Emma wanted from her daughter was a smile. Even if it was just a fleeting glimmer of happiness — that's all she wanted.<p>

She sat in the back of their SUV with the girl, who was still shaking after they'd left the doctor's office. They had a prescription for a low-dose, child safe SSRI, but were warned not to take it until the school psychologist thought it would be beneficial — as Mrs. Riley knew more of Lily's condition than the pediatrician did.

The doctor suggested Pediasure, saying it wasn't a substitute for food, but would help Lily grow. Beyond that, she didn't have much more to say than what Will and Emma already knew.

It didn't stop Lily from crying or screaming out each time the physician came within a foot of her. The elderly woman had asked if Lily had been alone with any relatives or neighbors that may have unknowingly done some wrong by the four-year-old. Emma had a small outburst at the question and pulled the squirming child into her arms, not allowing the doctor to complete the physical examination.

Will suggested a second opinion as they left the office, and Emma agreed that they hadn't received the answers they were looking for.

"Is there anywhere you'd want to stop for food, baby?" Will asked as the family drove past downtown Lima.

"Not hungry," Lily answered, expressionless.

"Honey, you heard the doctor, you've got to eat tonight. You want to grow into a big girl, right? You can't grow if you don't eat!" Emma urged.

"Mommy, I'm tired," The girl whined, throwing her head back and resting her eyes.

Emma groaned and rubbed Lily's legs. She dreaded pulling into the driveway. They were about to engage in a battle of the century.

It was a plan she and Sarah devised earlier in the day. The neighbor was going to bring Nick and Scott over for dinner, and when the boys cleared their plates, everyone would make a big deal about how wonderful they were, and they would get a sticker on a chart that the women had made. The plan was for Lily to be envious of their praise and stickers, then work towards her own by eating. She would not leave her seat for any reason until her plate was clean. If it meant sitting for several hours, the family would do so.

They started early, preparing food as soon as they got home from the doctor and calling the Guire's over to eat. Lily was placed in a booster seat that they hadn't used in nearly six months, due to her protesting over being a 'big girl!' although it was still difficult for her to reach the table most nights. However, Emma decided it was time to take control and stop letting Lily run her life.

"Hey now," Will said gently as Lily tried to pull out of the seat, which had a strap around her waist, so she couldn't 'fall out,' or in the case presented, escape. "Sit down. It's time for dinner. Scott, would you like milk or juice?"

"Milk, please!" The four-year-old piped, eyeing his friend as she squirmed to be let free. "Lily, sit down, it's dinner time."

She growled lowly, eyes narrowing as Will asked her the same question he'd asked Scott and she simply yelled nonsense in reply. "Alright then, you're getting milk."

Paul stood over his eight-year-old, holding Luke and watching the exchanges take place. "Wow, look at those green beans! Man do they look good," He played his part, acting overly excited about the food. "You going to eat _all_ of those Nick?"

The oldest blonde boy, who saw Lily as his own little sister, nodded enthusiastically. "I am! They're going to be really good!"

Will stifled a laugh as the adults pulled up stools when the chairs were empty, Emma taking Luke as they all began eating.

Lily eyed her family and neighbors, clearly suspecting something was up. She lifted her fork, drawing everyone's eyes to her, then placed it back on the table. "Mommy, I'm not hungry."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Emma stated, rubbing Luke's back as he squirmed in her arms to rest his face on her shoulder. "But you're going to have to eat your dinner."

She kicked at the underside of the table and crossed her arms. Meanwhile, Scott munched on a piece of chicken, grinning widely, turning to his left to address the redhead sitting next to him. "Emmie, can I have more beans, please?"

"Of course, sweetie," She scooped another helping of the green vegetable onto his plate. "Eat up!"

He gladly dug in and Lily watched as the individuals around her began to clear their plates. When Nick was the first one done, Sarah gave him overwhelming praise for finishing and walked him to the refrigerator where they had put up a chart. Lily watched with a confused glare.

"Since you finished all your food, you get to put a sticker on the chart! And when you've filled up all these boxes, you'll get to pick a special surprise!"

"Momma, I finished, too!" Scott said proudly, climbing off the seat to the sticker chart. "Can I have a sticker?"

"You finished eating, so yes you may."

Lily tried to get out of her seat, but Will rested a hand over her legs. "You have to sit here until you finish eating," He told her gently.

"I wanna sticker!"

"When you're all done eating, you'll get one. Just like Scott and Nick did. But you have to clean your plate. You may not get up until you clean your plate."

"Let me go!" She screeched, pushing up in the seat.

"Aw, come on, Lily-bug. It's just a little bit of food," Paul encouraged her as he removed his son's plates from the table. "It's really good. Your Momma's a good cook."

The four-year-old cried, shaking her head violently as she yelled. "I want to get down! Please, Daddy, let me go!"

"We'll let you down, but you've got to finish your dinner. When you've eaten everything on your plate we will let you down."

The neighbors left and Will and Emma sat for over two hours with their daughter, watching her scream and cry and fight until nearly seven thirty, when she realized they were not giving in, for the first time in her short life. She had lost. At such point, she gave one final cry before picking up her fork, stabbing a cold piece of chicken and shoving it angrily into her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks as she forced herself to eat it.

By eight in the evening, her food was gone and she sat back, chewing the last bite of green beans, crying as she swallowed it. Both parents breathed a sigh of relief and praised her endlessly with hugs and kisses that she didn't return. Will lifted her out of the chair and walked her to the refrigerator, where he guided her hand-over-hand to select a sticker and put it on the chart. "See this, baby? You have twenty-one meals to eat every week. You already ate one, see, we put one sticker in this square. Once you get all twenty-one filled, you get to come with me to get ice cream. Does that sound like a plan?"

She didn't respond but stared at the reward system. "Bedtime."

"You tired, honey?" Emma knelt next to her, pressing a kiss to the girl's rosy cheek as she nodded. "Let's get ready for bed. I'm so proud of you for eating. You did a very nice job."

Lily blinked and bit her lower lip, sucking it into her mouth. "I'm sorry, Mommy."

"For what, sweetheart?"

"Being such a bad girl."

"You're not a bad girl," Emma whispered, rubbing the preschooler's back. "You're my wonderful, sweet, beautiful girl. I love you so much, Lily."

Within an hour, Lily was passed out on Will and Emma's bed, giving the couple time to spend together. Will stretched out on the sofa, patting his chest, indicating Emma aught to lay on top of him. She had no objections and she placed her head on his chest, below his neck, curling her fingers through his hair. His settled below her waist, rubbing the small of her back and her hips.

They'd finally succeeded with their daughter. They'd won a battle. It was a small one, but it was enough to give them hope.

Will's hands moved from his wife's back to her hair, twisting the ends. They lay in silence for a long stretch of time before he sat up, bringing Emma with him so he could meet her mouth in a long kiss.

One arm pulled her chest to his while she moaned as his tongue slid into her mouth, daring to battle hers for dominance. She gladly gave into him, stroking his hips with her fingertips, eliciting the same noise from the back of his throat.

"Em," He breathed, "I love you."

She rested her cheek against his, nipping at his earlobe lovingly before returning the sentiment and unbuttoning his shirt. Her hands glided over his chest and she traced the curves of his muscles with her nails, earning a shiver as Will's lips crashed against hers in need to be close.

Their noses brushed and Emma's toes curled when Will's hand slid up the ruffled, cotton shirt she wore, rubbing his thumb across her bra and kissing her harder.

She sighed when he guided her backwards, so her head was pillowed against the armrest and her hands moved to his belt loops, rocking his hips against hers as he hovered over her with a groan.

Electricity shot through Emma's spine as Will's hand dared to dip below her waist, rubbing the inside of her thigh under the summery skirt she sported and the redhead's eyes rolled to the back of her head as Will's mouth moved from her lips to her neck, covering the sensitive flesh with kisses while his hand continued its movements on her leg.

Realizing she wasn't reciprocating the feelings for him, Emma unbuckled Will's belt and popped the button of his jeans open, stroking between the layers of fabric that covered him, earning a low rumble from his chest as he lifted her shirt off and bit at her collar bone, causing his wife to shudder beneath him. His hands moved faster as his body grew hotter with each move of Emma's fingers around him. It wasn't long before he was feeling entirely too warm; knowing one more touch given their few and far between acts of intimacy was going to send him over the edge.

"Em," He sighed her name as he kissed the space between her breasts, pulling away from her delicate hands and laying flat on top of her, pulling his own hand away from under her skirt to run his fingers through her hair.

"...You don't want to continue?" She questioned, trying to hide her disappointment as her hormones had spiked and his actions had been most appreciated in relieving the needy sensation that swelled in her belly.

He shook his head against her chest, his curls tickling the sensitive skin below her neck. "I just...I...How about a bath instead?" He offered, knowing that Emma wouldn't turn him down for a mutual soak.

She bit her lip and nodded, giving a convincing smile. "Yeah, that'd be okay. We'll just have to keep quiet, lest we wake the beast."

He stood and as Emma was prepared to stand, Will made her squeak in surprise by lifting her into his hold, nuzzling his nose against hers before carrying her down the hall, where he set her down as they tip-toed around the bedroom before closing the bathroom door and drawing hot water, filling the tub with bath salts and bubbles before climbing into the suds.

Emma leaned back against Will, sighing as the heat washed over her and his arms found their way around her middle and she twisted her head for a kiss, which he gave hungrily.

"I miss being at work," Emma said out of the blue while Will's hands massaged her shoulders. "I realized that today. Usually, I was the one who got called into a classroom to take a kid out and have them calm down...not the parent rushing to see what their child had done this time."

He paused his movements, moving instead to hug her closer to his chest. "I know you miss work. I know, Em. But...honestly, I think it's better that you're home right now, not at work. And it's more than just taking care of Luke."

She turned so she could see his eyes. "Like what?"

"Don't get upset when I say this, okay?" Emma blinked. "Promise you won't get upset?"

"Promise," She whispered, genuinely curious as to what he was going to say.

"I think that it's better you're away from dealing with other people's problems. If you were working at school, you'd be helping kids through their parents divorce, or helping them pick the right college, and every other issue that takes place in that school. You'd pour yourself into it and it'd be a great coverup for Lily's problems. I think that you being here, with her for most of the day, is helping both of us realize we have to make her our number one priority.

Emma breathed deeply and pondered his words. "I...I don't know about that."

"I do," He stroked her cheek with his wet hand. "I'm not blame free, either. I did it too. I used work as an excuse to...get away from all the chaos. And we both know you're a pro when it comes to taking care of other people before yourself."

She sighed and bent her head down. "I guess. But...It just really frustrates me that now I won't even be able to go back until at least next January. With the baby and all...It just feels like Lily's going to be under control just as soon as I'd be able to go back, but I still wouldn't be able to because of baby number three."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," He sympathized. "I know how passionate you are about your work. But you've got to know that Luke and the new baby will both be much better for having their mother take care of them. But...I kind of wanted to talk about the baby. I know it's early on and all, but...I think that we should work on finding a way to make it affordable. I have an idea, and I know you're not going to like it—"

"Glee?" Emma breathed, her eyes wide.

Will pressed his lips together. "How'd you know?"

"Your email was still open when I got online this afternoon to go to the _Supernanny_ website to try and figure out how to get Lily to eat. It was still on the page about the government grant. I didn't really read it, I just saw the title and moved on...but..."

"Yeah," Will bent his head and cringed. "Figgins said he'd be paying well for me to take it over again. The current director up and quit. The state is doing a Bring Back the Arts campaign, and the music department is receiving a hefty amount of money."

Emma was quiet, not sure how to respond to his suggestion. "I want to be able to provide, too, Will. In anyway I can. And...I'm also just nervous that you taking over Glee again is going to...hurt the family dynamic we've worked so hard to build. I mean, you wouldn't be home until almost five-thirty every night...It'll just be...so different, and—"

"Five-thirty is when most people get home from work, Em," Will added, "It's only an hour and a half difference."

"But we both know that there's a lot more to Glee than staying after school, Will." Her chocolate-hued eyes were tearing up. "I don't want to discourage you. I know you're an amazing, amazing music teacher but...I'm just a bit...afraid. Of losing you. To the Glee club."

He opened his arms and Emma waded into them, sighing as she rested her head on his shoulder. He knew she was thinking of Will's first marriage, but he wanted to do everything he could to assure her it wouldn't be a repeat. "Glee is what brought us together in the first place. It's about opening yourself up to joy, you know that. Maybe...me being with the music again will bring some of the joy we've been missing back to our lives."

"You really think that spending less time with your family is going to bring us more joy?"

Will paused. "No. I guess I didn't phrase that right...but I want my kids to see me happy, Emma. And it's not that I'm miserable. I love you. I love Lily, despite her emotional problems, and I love Luke, even if I wasn't ready for him. And I'm going to love baby number three, with whatever challenges come along with it. But...I think that I'd be more at my best if I were coaching Glee. I'd have the music back, Em...and we'd have the extra money. I know it might mean sacrificing a little bit of family time, but I think it'd be worth it. And who knows? You could still help me pick out songs and costumes, and Lily could help me with the dancing, and maybe Luke will turn out to be a musical genius."

Emma didn't say anything as she watched Will's face. She could tell he was serious and craving to be back with the world of song once more.

"You're the one who told me, a long time ago, that I needed to show my kids what was important in life. That the only life with living—"

"...Is one you're really passionate about," Emma finished and swallowed. "If it's what you really want...and if you don't think it's going to affect you as a father, I guess...I can't say no."

His face exploded into a smile and he took hers into his hands and kissed her hard. "Thank you, Em. I won't start it up until we've got Lily's situation figured out, though. The Sectional isn't until December, so we'll have plenty of time to get ourselves together."

Emma cringed as she stared past him, while locked in a firm embrace. It was great that the family would have some extra income...but the cost she knew, was going to be far greater than Will thought.

* * *

><p>Wednesday was a blur of Luke fussing with his teeth coming in and Lily sulking around the house. The girl wanted desperately to be left alone, but Emma wasn't risking a strange behavior happening while her daughter wasn't in her presence. They'd started the day with a small breakfast of fruit which Emma sat at the table with Lily for nearly forty-five minutes before she ate all of the strawberries in her bowl, sulking the entire time. Once they were gone, Emma praised her endlessly as Lily picked a sticker on her own, placing it on the chart with little interest.<p>

She wanted to play outside and Emma noted it was too nice to refuse her, so she dressed Luke and offered to go on a walk with Lily to the park. For the first time in nearly a week, Lily smiled with her eyes lit up. Emma warned her that she wouldn't be able to participate in every activity, as Luke couldn't be left alone, but Lily didn't seem to care as she pulled on a sweatshirt and shoes.

The walk was pleasant, with Luke in a stroller, babbling away at nothing while Emma held one of Lily's hands as the four-year-old bounced over the cracks in the sidewalk, in a good mood.

"Can we walk around the trails?" She begged, her wide brown eyes pleading.

"That sounds like a great idea, Lily."

"Hooray! Can we do the one that's by the water so I can say hello to the fishes?"

Emma agreed and the three members of the Schuester clan walked for over half an hour until they came to a bench along the edge of the path where a bench overlooked a small pond. Lily sprinted to the wooden fence in front of the water, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Fishes, come out and say hi, please!" She chimed into the water, pouting when they didn't respond. Emma sat on the bench near her daughter and pulled Luke from the stroller to sit in her lap, smiling brightly at Lily when she climbed next to her. "They didn't come out. But it's okay. They're probably just sleeping."

"Probably," Emma said quietly, moving one arm to wind around Lily, who turned into her stomach, staring at Luke.

"Can me and Luke share your lap?" The mother moved Luke onto her left leg and patted her right, where Lily scooted to, resting her head back on Emma's chest. "Mommy, 'member when Luke came home and you said it was gonna be okay?"

Emma nodded, recalling the day that Lily had run out of the house screaming when she realized Luke was going to be staying with them forever.

"_Where are you takin' him?" The three-year-old had questioned, following Emma down the hall to the master bedroom, where she placed a sleeping, four-day-old Luke in the bassinet before wheeling it out into the living room so she could tidy a few things up before her parents and sister arrived to see their new grandson and nephew._

"_He's just going to sleep in here, sweetheart, don't worry about it," She tried convincing the preschooler, but Lily was having none of it as her eyebrows knit together and she glared at the white bassinet, climbing onto a chair to get a better look at the little person inside of it._

"_When does he go back?"_

"_What do you mean?" Emma asked, moving towards Lily who jumped off the chair to back away from her mother's comfort._

"_When does he go away?"_

_Emma winced. "Baby, Luke isn't going away. He's staying here, forever. He lives here. He's my baby, and your little brother. Like Scott still lives with Nick, because he's Nick's little brother."_

_Lily burst into tears and shook her head, running to the door with no idea what she was doing. She opened it and sprinted as fast as her tiny legs could carry her into the front yard, giving Emma a burst of adrenaline at the possibility that Lily could run into the street. _

_Thankfully, Paul's parental reflexes kicked into when he saw his neighbor girl running off the edge of the sidewalk as he played catch in his own yard with Nick. He sprinted towards Lily, capturing her not an inch form the street where a van whizzed by, honking loudly. _

_Lily struggled in his hold and he received a swift kick to the groin region for his efforts, but didn't let the pain affect him as he cringed, carrying Lily to her shaking mother, who apologized profusely to her neighbor, feeling an onset of tears as he put a firm hand on her shoulder, doubled over slightly. "It's alright, Em. I'm fine. She's fine. We're all okay here. Just take her inside and lock the door. It's alright."_

_Emma was rooted in fear and Paul gently guided her to the front door, assuring her that she wasn't a rotten mother and that every kid runs out of the house a time or two. _

_Will stepped into the living room from the garage a few minutes later, hands full of grocery bags. "Oh, god, what happened?" He asked, observing as Paul was standing over the couch, having taken the hysterical Lily back as her mother attempted to regain her composure._

"_Lily ran out of the house and into the street where she almost got hit by a van. Thankfully, we got her...Emma's just trying to come off the adrenaline." _

_Will took a seat next to her, winding his arms around his wife and shushing her gently, stroking her hair. "It's okay. Everyone's alright...It's okay, Em."_

_Once they'd all finally calmed down, Emma took Lily into her pink bedroom, sitting her on the bed and talking very sternly with her about safety until the three-year-old broke into tears again, and Emma tried a different approach._

"_It's going to be fine, honey. I promise it's not as bad as it seems. You're going to love your baby brother. It's going to be plenty hard, at first. There's going to be a lot to get used to, but it's going to be okay, I promise, you. Lily, it's going to be okay."_

"Mommy, it's still not okay. It's not okay." Lily let silent tears roll down her cheeks, shaking her head. "When is it gonna be okay?"

Emma shed a few tears of her own before pressing a long kiss to the top of Lily's head. "I don't know, honey. I just don't know. It'll be soon, though. It'll start getting better soon. Can I tell you something without you getting mad at me?"

Lily turned in her mother's lap to meet her eyes. "I guess."

"You know how you have OCD, baby? And it sometimes makes you very upset?"

Lily nodded, although she didn't understand her mental disorder, she knew she wasn't the same as other people.

"Well, we think that you might have more in your head than just those letters. We think that there's something else in there that is making you so upset all the time. Do you understand?"

"There's more letters in my brain?" She raised an eyebrow, not comprehending.

"Sort of. Your brain is just...not quite all working right. But Mommy, Daddy, and your teachers at school, and Mrs. Riley...we're all working together to try and help you. But you've got to work with us, baby. You can't fight us every time we want to help you. You want things to be okay, right?"

Lily nodded again, her curls bouncing as she did so. "Well, we're working on making things right for you. We're working on helping you so that everything is okay. Do you think you want us to help you make things okay?"

"Yes, Mommy! I want everything to be okay!"

Emma kissed her cheeks and snuggled her with one arm. "I love you so much, Lily. We're going to all work our best for you, I promise."

* * *

><p>"Before we begin, we want you both to know that we are moving at a fast pace for Lily's case. Usually, months of observation would take place before a decision like this would be made. We want you to understand that we <em>can<em> continue observation and do a complete diagnosis before we make any decisions."

"It's okay," Emma nodded to the room of teachers and other school workers that had joined them in her daughter's preschool classroom. "We just want what's best for her." Will wrapped a hand in hers and silently agreed, although he was apprehensive at what the teachers were going to suggest was the best option for their daughter.

"Well, let's start, then." Mrs. Riley cleared her throat and opened a binder to revel neat notes, slid into protective sheets. "It is clear, from both Lily's previous diagnosis, our discussion with her teacher last year, Miss Quincy, the short time we've had with Lily this year, and your own interpretation of her home life, that Lily suffers from severe anxiety, also stated to be OCD. We do believe that her emotional issues branch beyond that, although to what, we're not exactly sure. The OCD symptoms we see are very obvious, repetitive, and predictable. However her more recent behaviors are sporadic and seem to differ from day to day, and according to the pair of you," She paused to lift her hands at the Schuester couple, "Have changed in the past few months. It would take more time than the two weeks we've had to give her an official diagnosis.

"For now, though, given her actions earlier this week, involving Scott Guire, and her episode at home with her hair pulling, we have to treat this case with extreme caution, because we do not know if either of these events are going to repeat themselves. Both happened in a moment when Lily was without direct adult supervision. While it is impossible for an adult to have an eyes on her at all times, we think that with increased supervision, these actions can be stopped or prevented. We also don't know if they are likely to repeat themselves, as neither incident had been demonstrated before. Right now, we honestly just don't know."

The principal of the school took a moment to speak, his balding head glistening in the bright lighting of the room. "If I may, I'd like to be clear that I do not tolerate any sort of violence in this school. It has taken both Mrs. Riley, Miss Kaypee, and the boy's parents to convince me not to throw Lily out. They have told me that they do not believe that Lily will be hurting others again, but I'd like some proof of that before I believe it. That said, the agreement these women before you have reached about Lily's future is the only path I think appropriate to ensure that she will be in a stable environment."

"Of course," Emma breathed her eyes wide, feeling Will's hand squeeze hers reassuringly. She'd been kicked out of preschool herself due to endless panic attacks. She didn't want Lily's anxiety to cause the same events to unfold.

"We think that the best option for Lily, at this point, is to have her placed into Mrs. Klark's room," Miss Kaypee said gently, earning Mrs. Klark the eyes of both parents. They'd just met the woman during the introductions. She was also a preschool teacher. But she taught a different category of children than Miss Kaypee worked with.

"In...in the special ed room?" Emma's face dropped as she tried to understand.

"It's the best option right now. The children in the class all have a variety of needs, but they aren't severely learning disabled. Mrs. Klark teaches preschoolers with emotional impairments who aren't receiving the individual attention they need in a general preschool room. There is one adult to every three children in the program, so she'll be able to have a better eye on her—"

"Hold on, hold on," Emma lifted her hands wile her eyebrows knitted together in a haze of confusion and frustration. "You're telling me that the cure to Lily's emotional and behavioral problems is putting her in a room full of other kids who also have emotional and behavioral problems?"

"It's not like that, Mrs. Schuester," Mrs. Klark insisted, speaking from her experience in teaching the class. "It's not a free-for-all with kids climbing all over like they're at the zoo. I assure you, we're a very contained group."

"That's not the point," Emma pressed her lips together, shrugging Will's hand off her shoulder as he attempted to calm her. "I don't think that putting her in a room full of crazy kids is going to help her learn _anything_, let alone how to control her own behavior! That's madness."

Mrs. Klark attempted to speak again, but Emma cut her off. "N-No, this...this isn't going to happen. We're not putting Lily—"

"Emma, I think we should listen to what they have to say. We don't have a lot of options here," Will said under his breath, keeping a hand on his wife who shook her head frantically.

"Lily doesn't need special education, I refuse to believe it. She's just...got some anxiety problems. I understand that. I've accepted that! I...I need a moment." She slid her chair backwards and walked to the door with the fury the color of her hair so often symbolized.

Will apologized to the group in front of him, but he had a feeling this wasn't the first time they'd dealt with parents who didn't agree with their methodology.

"Emma!" He jogged to the place she stood, bent over a radiator at the end of the hallway, shoulders heaving with silent sobs. "Em, you can't...you can't do this. Lily needs—"

"I know!" Emma muttered through a sniffle. "I know. But...I can't, WIll, I can't let them put her in a class full of crazies! How is that going to help her? She's just going to get worse! We can't do this to her! They're wrong, Will, they're wrong! She doesn't need this! She just...needs..."

Will gathered Emma closer to him, holding her elbows while her hands clutched his upper arms, an awkward form of a hug they often shared when they discussed serious issues. "She needs what, Em? You don't know, because nothing we've done has worked. There aren't other options left right now. This is our best shot at intervening early. She's four. She has time to change so that she won't be stuck in that classroom for emotional kids forever. If she spends one year in a special ed class, so what? At least she won't be in it then for the rest of her life! Come on, see it the way I am, Emma. This is going to be a blessing for Lily. It's the best choice we have. And the best choice for our daughter."

"I fail to see how pulling her out of a class and putting her into one with kids who probably have more severe emotional needs than Lily, is going to help her get any better! If she's stuck next to a little boy rocking back and forth on the floor because he has no social skills, how is Lily supposed to gain any? Don't you think that keeping her around normal kids would teach her how to act...normal? What about inclusion? I thought that the Lima Public Schools were all about putting kids in the least restrictive environment! Why is our daughter an exception to that?"

Will didn't know how to respond to her ranting as he rested his forehead against hers. Emma stiffened and whispered. "I know something has to change. And I know that we can't just wait around for it, but I just wish...for _once_, the world would just, fix our problems for us."

"Sweetheart, we can't just keep waiting for the world to change, okay? We've got to make it ourselves. And I know this isn't ideal. But it's reality." He kissed her cheek and put his hand at the small of her back while Emma wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Come on. Let's go finish this meeting. If we're done early, we can go out for lunch before I have to be back."

"Okay," Emma said quietly as they walked the length of the hall and returned to the classroom, where the three women were sitting with reassuring smiles on their faces, but the aged principal seemed less than accepting of Emma's outburst. "I-I'm sorry, it's just, hard...for me to hear that my d-daughter needs..." She trailed off.

"It's not easy," Mrs. Klark covered Emma's hand with her own. "But we're going to work together to get this all figured out. I promise, Lily is going to be soaring on her own before you know it."

They spent the next half hour going over the paperwork that they'd need for Lily's official file before they could transition her from general to special education. The teacher of the classroom insisted that they could be assured Lily would not be picking up poor habits from other children. She was going to learn how to cope with her anxiety and meltdowns with various techniques, and her actions were going to be controlled through behavior modification. In short, Mrs. Klark insisted, Lily was going to be _okay_.

* * *

><p>"James, this is a disgrace. All you had to do was get the crazed hobbit out of the school. How hard could it be? She committed an act of violence in the classroom, I think that is probable cause for having her excused." Sue walked slowly back and forth in the office of the elementary school, eyes burning with disappointment at the principal.<p>

"The Schuester girl is four, Sue. It's not like she knew what she was doing. Plus, she has a mental handicap. We can't just throw her out. It wasn't the wishes of anyone involved. Personally, I would like her to leave, but I'd have to send her through the school board and there would be hearings, and I know what the results would be. It is a waste of time and money. I don't understand your vendetta against this child anyway. What has she done to you?"

Sue growled, placing her hands on the aging man's desk, lowering her eyebrows. "Let me explain this to you one last time, James. Will Schuester ruined my _life_. It is now time to take that seven-letter word we both know you're good at and put it into place." His face screwed into confusion and Sue spat the syllables at him with all the rage she could muster, "Revenge. You help me with this, and I'll see to it that you get to retire with the full pension you were promised upon your instillation as a principal here. You won't have to settle for the state buy-out and _everyone_ will get what they want."

James cringed. "I fail to see how kicking a preschooler out of this institution would help you ruin this man's life, Sue."

She threw herself into a chair, slightly too small for her hips as it was designed for a small child. "Will Schuester is on the brink. With my original plan — which even though did cost me my job, was effective — he gave birth to a child he and his loony wife were not prepared for. This went even better than I could have anticipated, because that frumpy little mongrel has the same crazy gene as her mother, and then some. They've had a second child and their marriage is falling apart at the seams, and according to my careful calculation, they're about to have a third. If they haven't found out already, they soon will. This is the ultimate deal breaker for the two of them—"

"Sue, how the hell do you get someone else pregnant?" James gasped, his expression one of disgust.

"Let's just say, I happen to have some inside knowledge. I know for a fact that the flakey ginger of a wife drinks three cups of tea a day to help keep her calm. I also know that she purchases the same brand of tea every week at the Whole Foods store. With a few phone calls, some minor surgery on a tea bag to include fertility-inducing drugs, the proper placing of the package on the shelf at the proper time, and you have yourself a pregnancy. I thought it might be a bit of a challenge to knock up the fruitcake since she was still feeding her second ragamuffin, but judging by the petrified look of one Spanish teacher with hair like the nest the rodent in my basement built to deliver her young has been wearing all week, I'd say it worked."

James stood, crossing to the other side of his desk. "You're truly a sick woman, Sue. I understand that you feel this will cause the Schuester's to be separated, but I still don't understand how it's going to help you."

"Will Schuester will be so stressed out that given enough time and pressure, he will snap. And when he does," Sue smirked, rising to grasp the yard stick hanging from a filing cabinet in the corner, then broke it in half over her knee. "I'll be there to see it. So," She turned her attention back to the principal. "You make sure Lily stays in the classroom of crazies and becomes just as awful as the rest of them. The next time she lashes out, she's out of the school. Then, you will have your full pension restored. Do we have a deal?"

* * *

><p>That evening, Will called Emma to the basement once both of their children were sleeping. He'd been in the lower portion of their home for the better part of the evening while Emma entertained Luke and Lily sat mindlessly in front of Disney movies. Asking her to do something other than sit in front of a video caused nothing but a screaming fit that neither parent had the patience left to deal with.<p>

Emma giggled as he led her down the stairs, a bandana tied around her eyes so she couldn't peak at whatever it was he'd been working on. "This must be quite the surprise."

He smirked, although she couldn't see it as he held onto her waist from behind as she reached the floor, her toes curling into the carpet. "Take it off," He whispered, kissing her neck.

She slid it over her head and gasped lightly when she caught sight of the room.

The lights were off, save for the glow from candles lined in a pathway from where Emma was standing to a makeshift bed against the far wall, made with copious amounts of blankets and pillows. A coffee table from their storage room had been pulled out and set with a chocolate desert and similarly flavored wine. "Will," She exhaled his name, turning to face him with her lips set in a 'about to cry from happiness' pout. "This is so sweet."

He dipped his head low for a kiss and snuggled his face into her hair, "You like it?"

"I love it," She said in a hushed tone, dabbing at her eyes with her thumbs. "It's perfect."

"Come here," He smiled, taking her hand and leading her down the path, where he pressed the play button of the iHome that sat near the mound of quilts on the floor. "Dance with me?"

A slow, familiar song started to play and Emma smiled continuously as Will took her hands, leading them in a circle. "You helped me pick this song today, when we were talking in the hallway. I'm going to use it for our first Glee invitational." He spun her out and back in, tipping her back and making her laugh as he sang along to the words, Emma tagging along with the repeating phrase.

"_So we keep on waiting,"_

"_Waiting,"_

"_Waiting on the world to change." _

They laughed together, heads touching again.

"I love you, Emma." Will pecked the skin near her ear. "So much. You're a wonderful wife...an amazing mom...and we're going to get through all of this. It's going to be okay, Em. It has to."

Their dance slowed down as they came to a mutually initiated kiss while the lyrics faded out, all the while, waiting for their world to change.

* * *

><p><em>Long author's note<em>:

Hopefully that ending was a little easier to digest than the last chapter. I warned you all this would be heavy on angst. For the anons wondering if this will end happily...you'll just have to trust me. I ended this chapter happily, see! It's not all dark times ahead, although there are a lot. And no, Lily does not have autism. Some of you may find her behaviors unrealistic, but it happens. I've seen it.

_Lisa_: You will see a conversation from Emma next chapter that will showcase the reason why your request will not be a part of the story. I don't want to discuss my values via an author's note. If you'd like to email me, feel free to do so as I would be more than willing to have a private conversation about the topic. Thank you, though, for your kind words and support.

Also, this is the third time I've been asked to write shorter chapters. Personally, I've established (since mid-_Beautiful Lie_) that I don't like posting anything under 10k words (previous limits included 3k and 7k). I like chapters to feel like an 'episode,' and I think that length is one way to do that. Shorter chapters won't mean I update any sooner. I can't imagine making you all wait a month (or five) for like...a thousand words. But, I can split them in half (5k - 7k) if majority rules. **Thoughts**?

But in all seriousness, **thank you** all for your reviews and comments. It's nice to get a wide variety of reactions to this — both good _and_ bad. I think I'm doing something right if they're so mixed. But then I also feel like RIB. (Or a troll. I suppose they're one in the same. So sorry.)

_Next chapter_: Will's mother is about as sane as Lily and the possible root of her emotional and behavioral problems are revealed.


	3. Chapter 3

_I can't tell if you're laughing,  
>Between each smile there's a tear in your eye.<br>There's a train leaving town in an hour — it's not waiting for you,  
>And neither am I.<em>

"Back so soon?" Dr. Romano stepped into the examination room where Emma was uncomfortably seated as she awaited the first OBGYN visit of her third pregnancy.

"Well, clearly we weren't planning on being here," Emma twitched, feeling judged.

"Oh, honey, it's alright. These things happen. At least your babies won't be nine months apart. Trust me, I've seen it," The doctor chided, "Well, you know the drill, so let's go ahead and get started here."

Will stroked Emma's hair while the doctor went through the usual procedure, chattering away at how everything looked normal. "So how's your oldest doing with the new baby?"

The loaded question came as no surprise, and Will answered something they'd rehearsed for anyone who asked to hear. "She's still adjusting, but she's going to be okay. Lily's a strong girl, she's making her way."

"That's good, that's good," Dr. Romano measured Emma's stomach before placing a hand on her knee. "You know what's next."

"I do," Emma huffed, lying on her back while Will made faces to entertain her as the doctor took a look between her knees.

They left with an ultrasound and a pamphlet on raising multiple babies, which Emma had read front and back twice by the time they arrived home.

"Do we have to pick up our children now?" Will asked as they pulled into the driveway that same Monday afternoon. Lily had a preview day in her new preschool, where Mrs. Klark showed her around and introduced her to the other children in the class before she would officially start the next day when her paperwork would go through the proper offices.

"It's probably the right thing to do," Emma groaned, wanting more alone time with her husband. They'd been doing marvelously at spending quality time together since their fight two weeks previous, but that didn't mean they were completely satisfied.

"How about you pick them up and I'll start dinner?" He offered, taking a manila folder of information in his hand as he opened his car door. Emma met him at the other side with a kiss, agreeing to the suggestion and headed next door to pick up her son and daughter.

She rapped on the door lightly before letting herself in, panicked at the sight of Scott sitting on the sofa with a bloody rag under his nose while Sarah nursed his injury, giving a glance in Emma's direction.

"Oh, oh gosh, what—"

"It wasn't Lily," Sarah assured her, "He was standing on a stool, helping me with dinner and he fell face first into the counter. This kid has the worst luck, I swear, Child Protective Services is going to be after me if he's got one more bruise on him. But he's fine, right, buddy?"

Scott held his thumbs up and gave a barely audible, "I'm good!" Through the bloody cloth on his face.

"Thank goodness," Emma's heart rate decreased and she took time to notice Luke on the floor, reaching in front of himself for a stuffed elephant. "Hi, baby," She moved to sit next to him, taking his excited frame into her arms, kissing his cheeks and nuzzling her nose into his neck. "Where's Lily?"

"She is being serenaded by Nick in his room," Sarah said with a laugh. "He's learning to play the recorder at school and she's in love with him now. He's played Happy Birthday about twenty-eight times since he got home, so I asked them to close the door. You can call them both out, Nicky needs to clean up for dinner."

Emma placed her son back on the carpet, not wanting Lily to be upset with his presence as she made her way down the hall, slowly opening the door furthest to the end of the hall, revealing a teary-eyed Lily and a comforting Nick as he attempted to soothe her.

"What's wrong, guys?" She asked, assuming it was something minor.

Nick looked up, feeling guilty. "I accidentally stepped on her toes. I didn't mean it, it was just an accident. I stepped backwards and I didn't know she was so close."

"It's okay, it's okay," Emma smiled gently, sitting to pull Lily into a hug and ruffle Nick's blonde hair. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. Lily does too, right?"

Lily nodded, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. "But it still hurts really bad!"

"I'm sure it does, baby." Emma rubbed the toes, which were only the slightest shade of pink in pain. "You'll be fine in about two minutes, I'm sure. But I'm glad to see you're not crying. That's such a good job of my big girl."

"I'm sorry, Lil," Nick rubbed the back of his head. "Do you forgive me?"

She nodded and reached out to give him a hug, which he returned. "That's nice of you to do, Lily," Emma praised, giving her child as much positive reinforcement as she possibly could. "Nick, Mom says to wash up for dinner." He scampered out of the room and Emma lifted her daughter to her hip as they moved down the hall. "Would you like to go home and see Daddy?"

"Scott!" Lily gasped when she arrived in the living room, scrambling out of Emma's arms, her toes forgotten, and rushing to the boy's side. "What happened?"

Sarah had replaced the soiled washcloth with a fresh one, which was still soaking up small amounts of blood as she responded, "It's okay, he just hit the counter."

"I'm sorry!" Lily cried, her face twisting into hysteria which both mothers worked to prevent. It was clear to both of them that she was associating his injury as a result of something which she'd done, just as she actually had the week earlier.

"It's not your fault, honey," Emma insisted, hugging the girl tight and finger-combing her hair. "Baby, you didn't do anything!"

Lily shook her head and moved to the doorway, where she slid on her shoes before holding onto the door handle. "I'm sorry, Scott. I wish—" She was cut off when the door swung open, nearly crashing her into the wall, making her forget all about the connection she'd made to Scott's bloody nose being her fault. Paul's face dropped into shock when he caught sight of her wide, terrified eyes, then his son's bleeding nasal cavity.

"Exciting day here, or what?" He pried Lily off the wall, ensuring she hadn't been hurt before lifting her into his hold, where she nestled into his shoulder, sucking on her index and middle fingers. "Did you teach Scott another lesson?" Paul teased, tickling Lily's side.

"No, he fell face first into the counter," Sarah corrected, giving her husband an eye. "We don't encourage violent behavior, remember?"

Paul shrugged and sat next to his son, inspecting his nose. "You look good, kid. Real champ. Where's Nicholas?"

The eight-year-old sprinted out of the hallway, shouting something inaudible and kung fu-like and Paul barely had time to put Lily down before Nick attacked him, jumping into his lap and mock-beating his dad, who fell back dramatically. "Ah! He's got me! He's got me!"

"Dad, come on, seriously? You're not even going to fight back?" The green-eyed boy pouted with his arms crossed until Paul lunged forward, taking them both to the ground, careful to avoid Luke, who watched with curious eyes as the two wrestled.

"Oh my lord." Sarah rolled her eyes and finally finished tending to her youngest. "Go wash your hands, Scottie, no, don't—Paul really?"

The father had swiped his son and pulled him into the pile, wrestling both his boys while Sarah fretted over her baby's nose.

"He's fine, I'll be careful," Paul insisted as Nick jumped his legs.

"Welcome to the circus," Sarah blinked at Emma, who watched the rough and tumble play with laughter. She longed for the day when her family's home could be so carefree.

Lily tip-toed around the chaos, stopping at Luke and lifting him to sit on his bottom, where she carefully dragged him under the armpits to Emma, not wanting her baby brother to get hurt, no matter how much she didn't want him around. Emma's heart swelled with joy at the action while Lily raised a brow towards the door, indicating she'd like to leave the madness.

"Thank you for keeping your brother safe," Emma kissed her cheek as she gathered Luke into her arms. "Ready to go home?"

Emma thanked Sarah and the two quickly went over the plans for after-school the following afternoon then parted ways for the evening.

A half hour later, Lily was staring at her plate with disgust, trying not to cry while Luke ate from a bottle, watching his big sister with interested eyes.

"If you can finish all your food early tonight, you can come downstairs with me and we'll make some music," Will offered, knowing Lily loved the recording equipment in the basement.

"I want to dance," She said grumpily, crossing her arms as she glared at potatoes.

"You can dance if you want to," Emma said in a sing-song voice, to which a smile finally broke across her daughter's face.

"You can leave your friends behind! 'Cause my friends all dance and if they don't dance, then, they're no friends of mine!" Lily sang, standing up in her seat to move her little hips back and forth, making both of her parents laugh and clap.

"Wahoo!" Emma clapped one hand against her leg as Luke popped his bottle out to holler along with his family. "That was cute, Lil. If you eat all that up before bath time, we can all go downstairs and dance to that song if you want."

"Okay!" She suddenly became agreeable, stuffing vegetables into her face and finishing before even her parents did. "I'm putting a sticker on, let's go, let's go!"

"How about you go get one one of your dress up costumes on while Mommy and I finish, and we'll join you in a bit?"

"Can we put a costume on Luke, too? And he can dance!" Lily said excitedly, twirling in circles on the kitchen tile.

Emma nodded, more than encouraging Lily to interact with her brother. "Find him something that's little. Maybe your peapod hat will fit."

She scampered to her room and Will took his wife's face, kissing her lips in excitement. "Is this actually happening?" He asked, smiling brightly as he finished his dinner and began to clear the table.

"Don't get too excited, this could totally backfire at any moment," Emma warned, standing to assist while she placed Luke in his high chair where he babbled away. "But, yes, this is really happening."

Lily returned in one of her princess dresses with a pair of fairy wings, her ballet slippers from the year before covering her tiny feet. "I brought this for Luke!" She said holding up a hood that was a part of a lion costume.

Emma lifted her up so she could reach her baby brother, placing the headpiece on him, making the baby attempt to look up to see what was covering his hair. "Aw! He looks so cute, Mommy!"

"He sure does," She agreed as Luke giggled in his seat, reaching out for his sister. "Will, we can clean up later?" Emma offered and he turned, taking Luke from his seat and grabbing the camcorder off the counter near the door before walking the family downstairs.

Lily sprinted towards the center of the floor, begging for music. Emma took a few steps behind the bar, turning on the surround sound that was built into the ceiling, finding an appropriate mixed CD for Lily to dance to while Luke was placed on the floor, reaching for his big sister. Will turned on the camera and recorded Lily giving into the wishes of her baby brother, hugging him tightly. "This is my baby, his name is Luke William," She told the recording device as she pulled away from the boy, sitting next to him and pulling him into her lap, where he tipped over a little bit, grunting to be assisted up. Will reached forward and helped him sit upright, leaving Lily to stare at the baby before continuing. "Anyway, he is...Daddy, how old is Luke?"

"He's five months old, honey. Almost six, actually."

"He is five months old," Lily repeated dramatically. "He's getting to be so big. He's heavy. And he is sometimes a bad boy when he cries. But I cry sometimes, too. I'm a bad girl a lot because I run away and hit and bite people. You can't do that. But I sometimes do it."

Will pressed his lips together before asking, "If you know you're not supposed to do it, why do you?"

"I don't know. My head knows the rules. It says to stop. But I just can't stop. I just can't. I hurt Scott, my best friend last time. His blood came out of his arm. I cried a lot."

Emma watched the interview from behind the bar, perplexed as to why Lily was bringing the topics up on her own, especially for an audience of her parents and whomever would watch the video.

"'Cause I was so bad, I have to go to a new class. I don't like it."

"Why don't you like your new class?" Will questioned his daughter.

"Because Scott's not there! And Mrs. Klark said we do always have to try new things. I don't like that."

"You don't like to do different things? How come? Isn't it exciting?"

Lily hugged her brother close and shrugged. "It's scary. I don't like it. When you don't know what to do. It's scary."

"Oh," Will sympathized. "You like to have a routine, right?"

She bit her lip, shaking her head. "I just don't like to mess up. I cry when I mess up. And sometimes I get scared 'cause I mess up, so I run away."

"Do you think running away helps?"

"Daddy, I think we should dance now," She ignored the question, standing up while holding Luke under his arms, trying to get him to stand as well. Will met his wife's eyes with a shrug of his own, curious at the unknown origin of Lily's monologue. "Can you make Luke walk?"

Emma turned on the music before helping her four-year-old, taking Luke's hands. "I'll help him stand while you dance all by yourself, okay?"

The little girl smiled and Emma sat on her knees, helping Luke bounce up and down while Lily enjoyed spinning in circles, alternating with jumps and stretches, waving her arms gracefully. "Daddy, can I go to dance class again?" She asked the camera, putting on a pouty face.

Will cringed. "How about we talk about it another time, okay?"

She was surprisingly agreeable as she twirled away from him, continuing the pre-primary ballet steps she'd learned in dance the year before. Lily was actually quite coordinated, and her instructor had said that she could advance into the kindergarden program if the four-year-old would be returning in the fall.

The family danced and laughed in the basement for nearly an hour until bath time approached, when Lily declared, "We should do this every night!"

With their fun behind them, the Schuester's were able to enjoy their first cooperative, peaceful evening since early April.

* * *

><p>"Are you ready to go in?" Emma asked Lily, who had planted her feet to the ground outside of her classroom, eyes wide with panic. "Come on, it'll be fun." She felt like she was lying to her child, but Emma intended on going along with the suggested approach to her daughter's behavior, until she saw proof that the special education classroom was not working.<p>

The little girl shook her head, the pigtails that Emma had tied into her hair swaying.

"Hello, Lily," Mrs. Klark exclaimed as she stepped into the hallway, a welcoming smile on her face. "I'm glad you're here today. Let's go inside and put your things away."

Emma lifted Lily onto her side, encouraged to see her not acting out in rage, but clinging to her as she usually would have. The behavior wasn't desired, but at least it wasn't as bad as it could be. "Let's find your cubby, Lil," She stated, "Tell me when you spot your name."

They walked down the row of the open, blue storage devices along the wall of the early childhood special education wing, which was two classrooms divided by a shared hallway of cubbies and bathrooms, until they arrived at the last one, where Lily pointed. "Good job noticing. This is it! Can you hang up your backpack?" Emma asked, crouching to her knees so Lily's feet would touch the floor.

"Mommy," She muttered, turning her face into her mother's neck, letting out a loud wail.

"Oh, no," Emma rubbed her back, kissing her cheek, relieved that the girl hadn't gone running out of the room yet, but not taking chances by holding her tightly. "Come on, honey. You've been to school before. You know it's not that bad. And these are some new kids who are going to be very good friends for you," Emma said as she felt herself betraying her true emotions while trying not to stare at a boy running across the room flapping his arms excitedly. She closed her eyes and squeezed her daughter tighter. "It's going to be okay, my sweet girl. I promise you, Lily, I promise, it's going to be okay. The first few days are going to be really hard. It's going to be hard to learn about being in a new room. It's going to be hard to learn new rules. It's going to be hard to meet new people. But I promise you, it's going to be okay."

"Promise?" She shrieked into Emma's shirt.

Emma opened her eyes and pulled Lily out to look at her face. "I promise. How about we go in and see what you're working on today?"

She stood and was able to see through the window above the cubbies, at a height which the four and five year olds in the room wouldn't be able to. She noticed that four children were playing on a rug with blocks — rather, one was actually building with them, a long legged, dark skinned boy with a toothy smile. The others included the boy who had just flapped past Emma and was sitting next to the one building, watching him while continuing to move his arms up and down, a sandy-haired deviant with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he watched the tower being built taller, and finally, a little girl of asian descent who was curled into a ball, her thumb in her mouth as she sat separated from the group, despite the attempts of a classroom aide to get her to join in.

As Emma prepared to step in, Mrs. Klark moved in front of her. "Actually, we don't have parents enter the room when saying goodbye. We feel it's more peaceful to do it out here. Lily, give your Mommy a big hug, and we'll go in and join the other kids."

"I don't think that's going to happen," Emma said with an authoritative glare in the teacher's direction. "She's already upset enough."

Mrs. Klark opened and closed her mouth. "Mrs. Schuester, I know you have reservations about me teaching your daughter, but I _guarantee_ that I know what I'm doing. Seventy percent of my kids over the past three years have been placed into general education classrooms for kindergarden. Usually, I even have a few every year who go to a regular preschool class by second semester."

"And what about the other thirty percent?" Emma shook her head. "What if my child is one of the ones who doesn't make it?"

The teacher forced a smile. "We're going to do everything we can to ensure that doesn't happen. We're going to be starting in about two minutes. If you could say your goodbyes," The woman turned on her heel and greeted three additional students who had entered the room, welcoming each of them.

"Mommy, please, no," Lily shook, her shoulders heaving.

"Baby, I've got to go. I have to. But you know that I'll be back in three hours. You _know_ that."

Mrs. Klark ushered the rest of the children into the room, then, with the assistance of second aide, detached a screaming Lily from her mother. Once the aide had her in the room, Mrs. Klark nodded to the window. "This is an observation window. You can stay and watch as long as you like without Lily knowing you're here. We're going to help her, Mrs. Schuester. I hope we can work together on this." With those words, she walked into her classroom, singing a song to have the children meet in circle time as she closed the door, watching out of the corner of her eye as Lily kicked, scratched and bit at the assistant holding her.

Emma bit her thumb and willed her tears to stay back as she watched her daughter's struggle, sniffing silently while Sarah entered the hall, carrying Luke on her side. "How was the goodbye?"

The redhead leaned into her friend, sighing heavily. "They wouldn't let me in the room. I don't like this, Sar, I don't like it at all."

Sarah bounced Luke, who reached for his distraught mother who was in no mood to hold him. "Hon, it's going to be okay—"

"I'm tired of it being okay!" Emma exasperated, bringing up her thoughts from the week previous for the first time verbally, "I just want things to go well, to be normal, for us to be _happy_. Is that so much to want?"

Sarah swallowed. "No, it's not. Every family deserves to be happy. Unfortunately, sometimes circumstances make that difficult. You've got to find your own happiness. It's like that bumper sticker, 'Don't wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain.' You're stuck in a situation you have no control over. All you can do right now is to make the best out of it."

"I know, I know. But Sar, I just...she's in this class...I mean, look at the kids she's with. The little brown haired boy clearly has autism, and that one, with the blue shirt has some issues with aggression, and I just don't see how grouping them all together is going to help _any_ of them, not just Lily, learn how to behave properly! At McKinley we put kids with special needs into regular classrooms so they can model the behavior of their peers. They'll be doing the same thing in this room, only it won't be positive modeling, and — Oh my god!" Emma gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she saw Lily dive out of the aide's arms and crash her head into a shelf, letting out a howl of pain followed by massive tears. Mrs. Klark paused in getting the children to take appropriate seats and let the first assistant take control of the group on the circle while she dashed towards Lily, taking the hysterical girl into her arms and analyzing her head, sending the helper to the hall for an ice pack. The woman caught Emma's horrified eye as she took the ice from the freezer in the hallway.

"There's no blood," She assured the mother, "She's going to be fine. We'll get her taken care off," She said hurriedly as she closed the door to the room once more and gave the pack to Mrs. Klark to apply to Lily's forehead.

The teacher carried Lily, who's crying had faded to light pants, to the carpet, sitting in front of the rest of the kids with their new classmate in her lap.

"Good morning, boys and girls!" The teacher said cheerily, "As you can see, our new friend, Lily is here this morning. She just got a small bump on her head, so let's try and make her feel better by singing the good morning song!"

Emma turned away from the window, feeling a wave of nausea come over her, and she wasn't sure that it was morning sickness. Sarah followed her down the hall to an appropriate bathroom, holding her hair back with one hand while she kept a tight grip on Luke with the other as Emma let her breakfast meet the toilet.

She groaned when she stood, thankful that she carried mouthwash in her purse since she discovered the pregnancy, refusing to throw up in public without ridding her mouth of any traces of sick.

After she'd washed her hands, Emma decided she wanted nothing more to do with watching her daughter's miserable day, and allowed Sarah to escort her to the other woman's van, where they both sat for several minutes in silence before Emma declared, "I need a break from my daughter. I need her to...to just...be someone else's kid for a few days. I can't...do this. If this stress keeps up, I'll miscarry. And as much as I'm not prepared for this baby, I wouldn't know what to do if I lost it."

Sarah took a deep breath. "I think you shouldn't put too much effort worrying about that, okay? You're one of the healthiest people I know, so you've got that going for you. Stress is the biggest danger you have, though, and you're right, a break would be a good idea. Why don't you talk to Will about a break this weekend? Maybe he could stay home with her while you visit your mom and dad?" She suggested, starting to drive.

"I...I'm not, um...speaking with them right now, actually." She looked down, fiddling with the lace at the bottom of her top, moving her hand up and down over her barely-existent baby bump. Sarah didn't respond and Emma took the moment of quiet to stare out the window, wishing she could find the answers she needed on her own.

* * *

><p>Lily ran into the staff room at McKinley at full speed, her eyes frantically searching out her father. Once she spotted Will, sharing a table with Shannon, she attacked his middle with a fierce hug, making him jump.<p>

"Hey, baby," He smiled, placing his sandwich on the table and hugging her back before lifting her into his lap. "How was your first day? Oh, Lil," He cupped her chin, eyeing the goose-egg that had formed forehead. "What happened to your head?

She leaned forward, her face on his chest. "I was super mad and jumped out of Miss Carly's arms and hit it on a shelf."

"Ouch, that had to have hurt, huh? Guess you better not be fighting teachers anymore, huh?"

Lily pouted as Emma sat herself down in the seat between Will and Shannon, with Luke on her lap, babbling loudly.

"Hey, Em. Hi, buddy!" Shannon said in a parentese tone, waving at the baby, who smiled brightly and reached for the football coach. Emma laughed and passed him over, where Shannon tickled his belly, earning a high-pitched laugh from the boy.

"I didn't realize this was an episode of_ Little People Big World_," Sue said sarcastically from the doorway, clad in a tracksuit for the first time since returning to McKinley. "I find it _detestably_ unprofessional that you bring your miscreant children into the workplace so often, William."

"And I find it _deplorable_ that you're wearing a sweatsuit to teach in," He chided while one of his arms rubbed Lily's back.

"Oh, I'd never be so lax in the classroom. No, this little number is for this afternoon. When I'm coaching."

Emma cleared her throat, "Coaching what, exactly?"

"Three guesses, Elizabeth," Sue smirked, taking the seat directly across from Emma.

"They're letting you back on to coach the Cheerios?" Shannon raised a brow while bouncing Luke on her knee. "How the heck did you pull that off? We had a perfectly capable coach!"

"Coach Daphne took a terrible tumble down the bleachers after practice yesterday. Oh, it was tragic. Sprained both ankles and is experiencing some memory loss from the concussion. The school needed a replacement, and while I was indignant, knowing my responsibilities with the foreign languages are my top priority, I forcibly accepted the offer when Figgins made it."

Emma rolled her eyes at the blonde and stared at her daughter in Will's arms. She'd come to tell her husband about the disaster at preschool, but didn't want to mention their struggle in front of Sue, lest she have new information to taunt him with.

"So, little one," The newly-reinstated coach addressed Lily, "How was school today?"

The girl's parents shot the woman a look of disgust, which she in turn gave a wide smile.

"Bad," She said in response, forcing Emma to sigh out loud, placing her elbows on the table and rubbing her temples with her hands. "I was bad."

Will kissed her forehead and sat her up. "You don't have to talk about it here, Lily," He said quietly, hoping the four-year-old would pick up on the social cues of his expression that he did not want her speaking to or around Sue.

"Aw, let the munchkin talk. She wants to share with her Daddy. What sort of parent deprives their child of quality conversation?"

"You know what?" Emma laughed sarcastically and stood up, reaching for Luke from Shannon's hold. "I'm not going to sit here and let our child be hounded by an evil dictator. You're not wanted at this table, you can leave."

"Pretty powerful words from someone who doesn't even work at this school." Sue stood, "And a real fine example you're setting for your kids...you're both pretty bad at that, actually. Well, I've had all I can take of this creepy creature staring at me anyway," She referred to Luke, who giggled in her direction, craving attention. "No, I will not hold you, don't want to get...lice or the plague, whatever it is you infants carry these days. Adios, Schuester. I'm headed to post my try-out dates and sign up...right next to the one for the Glee Club. Want to make a bet on who's has more by the end of the day?"

She didn't give him time to respond and as she left the room, Will pounded an angry fist on the table. "I've got to get out of here," He shook his head, "I need some air."

"I can take the kids to my office for a few minutes if you two want to talk?" Shannon offered.

"That, um, that'd be lovely," Emma said with a genuine smile, passing Luke back to the football coach. "Lily, can you go with Aunt Shannon for a few minutes? I'll be back in just a little bit."

She nodded and climbed off of Will's lap as the father packed up his food, having lost his appetite. After placing his leftovers in the fridge, he closed Emma's hand in his and led them outside, where they both took a deep breath.

"Emma, I don't know what I'm going to do. I really hope Glee brings me the happiness I'm looking for in this place. I'm losing it."

"Me too," She shook her head. "School was a full-blown nightmare. And I'm just going to come right out and say it...I'm afraid that all this stress is going to make me miscarry."

Will swallowed and turned to face her, "Is there anything you think you can do to stop that?" He asked, raising a brow, "I mean, prevent the stress from...you know?"

She squinted against the sun, "I don't know. I need a break, Will. I need a break from Lily. If I go one more week with her screaming, I'm going to lose it. I have to have some time away from her."

"What do you suggest?" He questioned, raising a brow.

Emma looked down, feeling ashamed that she needed to rid herself of her daughter for a few days to relax. "I just feel so selfish asking...but I think that...maybe, this weekend, you could take her up to your cousin's? In Columbus? I mean, they wanted you to come all summer, and I know the only reason you didn't was because you were afraid of leaving me, but now...I mean...Lily's going to be awful, but...I have to be rid of her for a few days. Luke I can handle just fine. But—"

Will cut her off with a kiss. "I'll call them after school. I don't want anything to happen to our baby that we could have prevented. If you think that this is what's going to help you, then I'm all for it. And if Dan's girls are going to be home this weekend, I could probably bring Luke, I know they want to see him, and they'd be great at keeping him entertained."

"Are you sure you'd want to make the drive with both kids?" She cringed, feeling guilty.

"It's only two and a half hours. Three with stops for Lily. It'll be fine. I don't want anything happening to you or my next child. I understand. I'm glad you brought it up instead of letting it eat away at you." He kissed her forehead. "So how was school?"

"Oh, my gosh, Will. First of all, Mrs. Klark was quite...forceful with her methods, and Lily was simply having none of it. She cried the entire day, screaming in the quiet corner and throwing anything that was presented at her to try and do. When I came to pick her up, she ran into my arms, begging me not to send her back."

He wiped a hand over his face as they walked around the perimeter of McKinley, where students were enjoying lunch outside in the warm fall afternoon. "It's going to get better. It was just the first day. At least she didn't run out of the room like she was with Miss Kaypee. It'll get better, Em."

She felt another threat of morning sickness and did everything in her power to keep it at bay. "...So, you already posted Glee auditions?"

Will rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't holding hers. "Yeah, not till next week. I'm doing them during lunch and free period for now, nothing after school. In fact, depending on what kind of kids I end up with, free period Glee club might be the best route for all of us to take. That way I'm not away from home for too long."

Emma smiled and kissed Will's cheek as they walked, "I'm glad to hear it. And who knows, maybe it'll be a bigger hit than Sue's Cheerios? I mean, she doesn't really have a positive reputation around here with this group of kids, and you do."

"We can only hope," Will smiled and squeezed her hand while a nearby bell rang, signaling the five minute warning before classes would start again. "I've got to get to my class. Let's go pick up the babies."

* * *

><p>"Mommy, please!" Lily begged the next morning when Emma pulled her little body on to hers in attempt to wake her up for preschool. "Don't make me go!"<p>

The mother carried her daughter to her pink bedroom, finding an outfit for the four-year-old. "Are you in a pink or purple mood today?"

"Black," She pouted. "Black is angry. Like me."

Emma pressed her lips together at the profound observation from her little girl. "You're angry? Can you tell me why?"

"Cause you're making me go to school! I don't want to go!" Lily crossed her arms over her chest and kicked her leg against the back of Emma's thigh.

"Lily, don't kick me," Emma retaliated sharply, giving the redhead an intense stare. "Come on now, you know you have to go to school. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It never changes. You go for just three short hours and you're done. It's not so bad...You don't really have any black clothes, honey."

Emma dressed her daughter in a similar fashion to herself — bright colors, ruffles and bows being the staples of her wardrobe.

"Yes I do!" She pushed her way out of her mother's arms and opened a drawer on her dresser, pulling out a pair of hot pink and black stripped leggings and a black, long-sleeved shirt she'd worn under her halloween costume the year before. "See!"

Emma cringed, not wanting her daughter to leave the house in such dress. "Lily, can we find—"

"Oh, and this!" She hopped on one foot with a smile on her face to the dress-up trunk beneath her window, opening it to pull out a black skirt that flowed into large pink ruffles on the bottom, and a pink sash the color of the stripes on the leggings around its middle.

She quickly took off her pajamas and pulled on the outfit she'd chosen, standing up with her hands on her hips and looking like a pint-sized punk. "Mommy, I did it!" She said with a hint of snark in her tone.

"Lily, we don't wear dress up clothes to school—"

"If I can wear it, I won't cry!" She promised, bringing her hands together under her chin. "Please Mommy, I won't be bad!"

"Oh, lord," Emma mumbled and dragged her hands down her face. "You know what? Fine. You can wear it. But I'm bringing you a change of clothes, because if you start crying when we get there, I'll be very disappointed that I let you wear this. Understand?"

"Yes, Mommy! Can you put my hair in buns?"

Emma sighed and took her hand, leading her to the bathroom and sitting her on the counter where she split her curly hair in half and tied each side into a high knot, securing both with a bright pink ribbon from the basket of many accessories Lily had accumulated. "Now don't move, I've got to take a picture for your Daddy," She commanded the girl and pulled her phone from her pocket, snapping a picture and sending it with the caption: _At least she's going without a fight. I had no control over this_.

"Okay! Let's go!"

"Hang on, sweetie. I've got to pack up Luke and you need to eat breakfast."

Lily crossed her arms again. "Not hungry."

"Don't even start, Lil," Emma warned, wagging a finger at the four-year-old. "You know you have to eat and that it's not a choice," She stated firmly. "Now, would you like cereal or fruit?"

"Fruit," she muttered, letting Emma assist her to the floor and sulking to the kitchen.

The mother placed a bowl of fruit salad in front of the girl along with a plate, so she could separate the food by type and size. "Can you sit here and eat like a good girl while I get your brother?" Emma questioned, meeting Lily's eyes.

"I won't cry," Lily shook her head, making a promise, "And I'll eat this."

Emma smiled and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Good girl, Lily."

She moved to her son's room, watching as the little boy greeted her with flailing arms of excitement. "Hi, baby! I'm so happy to see you!" She laughed, lifting him up and kissing his face repeatedly. "Oh, you're such a cutie pie! Are you excited to visit grandma today?" She was taking Luke to the nursing home with her father-in-law after dropping off Lily that morning, spending much-needed time with the woman riddled with Alzheimer's disease, who rarely got to see her family.

She changed Luke into a polo onsie and khaki pants from the GAP that the grandmother they were visiting had picked out for the boy on their last outing together. "You're my handsome man," Emma cooed, tickling his pudgy baby belly, making him laugh and reach his arms for his mother. She kissed his cheeks and sighed deeply, saying her never ending prayer that her son would stay as happy as he was.

Emma packed his diaper bag with enough supplies for the morning, then carried the baby to the kitchen. "Alright, let's see if your sister touched her breakfast, shall we?" She asked rhetorically, placing the baby on her hip and carrying him with the bag to the kitchen, where Lily had consumed nearly half of the original amount of food placed in front of her. "Good job, Lily!" Emma stated proudly. "I can't believe that you're eating all that by yourself."

Lily shrugged, looking at Luke. "Is he going to eat mushy stuff?"

"We'll probably try some tonight," Emma responded in regard to question about baby food. "Would you like to help me feed him when I do?"

"No, thanks," Lily shrugged again, sucking a blueberry between her lips. "How come Luke doesn't eat blueberries?"

"Because he doesn't have any teeth, sweetie," Emma replied. "Can you finish up real quick so we can go?" She asked as Luke downed a bottle of formula.

They were out the door in ten minutes, with Lily complaining about being buckled into her car seat, as she did every morning without fail, then warning Emma to drive carefully as she backed out of the garage.

Emma carried Luke's seat on her arm, knowing she'd need to set him down while saying goodbye to Lily, despite her promise that she wouldn't toss a fit, Emma knew better than to expect her to go into the preschool classroom willingly.

"Okay," Emma encouraged Lily to step forward into the hallway, "Let's go in."

Lily's body froze when Emma lightly pushed her forward, "Mommy, I can't do it," She panicked, running quickly around her mother and into the regular hallway, only to crash into Mrs. Riley, who'd come to prevent such an event.

"Well, good morning!" The psychologist beamed, lifting the girl into her arms, "I came just to see you, my little Lily-flower! Look at your outfit, too cute. Did you pick this out?" She asked, picking at Lily's skirt. The four-year-old struggled to be placed down, but nodded in response to the question. "How are you today?"

"Down!" She demanded, trying to kick her legs, but Mrs. Riley had one arm wrapped around them tightly.

"I will certainly put you down if you answer my question. How are you today?"

"Mad!" Lily shouted, "Mad, mad, mad!"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Mrs. Riley sympathized. "Why are you mad?"

"'Cause I'm at school!" Lily shouted and gave up her struggle and sighed. "Can I please go down, now?"

"Sure," Mrs. Riley responded. "How about you give your Mommy a hug goodbye, and then guess what?"

Lily's eyes grew, "What?"

"You don't have to go into your class. You get to come with me in my office instead. We're going to play some games today." She placed the girl on her feet, and Lily immediately run into Emma's arms.

"What kind of games?"

"Well, you'll have to come with me to find out! But I promise it'll be really fun. Sound good to you?"

"Can my Mommy come? She loves to play games with me!" Lily declared, taking Emma's hand.

Mrs. Riley shook her head. "I think it'll just be you and me, today. But your mother is more than welcome to walk you down to my office and say goodbye there."

Emma agreed and lifted Luke back into the crook of her elbow on one arm while Lily's hand remained in her free hand. After a brief goodbye that didn't have any tears associated with it, the mother was out the door.

Before driving off, she composed a text message to Will: _It's eight twenty-five and I'm out the door with no tear stains on my sweater. Successful morning._

* * *

><p>"Is that my little prince?" Will's mother squealed as she caught sight of the baby in Emma's arms as she stepped into the room. "Oh, he's just darling."<p>

Emma smiled and took a seat at the table across from her mother-in-law, "How are you, Donna?"

"Oh, you know me. Always up to something! Last night, the larkod came in to dance with us!"

Emma pressed her lips together. Donna often spoke in words that made complete sense to her, but not to anyone else in the room. "Did you enjoy it?" She asked, not bothering to ask for elaboration that she likely wouldn't understand or cause the elder woman more stress than she needed.

"It was magical! How is Lily?"

"She's having a rough time with preschool. She doesn't like going but we're hoping she—"

"Will is firing," The busty woman interrupted, pointing to Luke.

Emma raised a brow and looked at her son, who had a trail of formula coming out of his mouth as spit up. "Aw, Luke, come on now, all over your clothes?"

"Oh, Terri, he's just baby," Donna laughed, reaching behind her for a tissue, handing it to Emma. "He washes up."

Emma never corrected the woman when she was called by the name of her former daughter-in-law. "I know. He's actually a very good baby. Much easier than Lily was."

"Will is a good baby, too. He never needs a spanking. Ah! There's Ricky! Ricky!"

Her husband entered the room with a weary smile on his face, waving at his wife and greeting Emma with a kiss to her cheek. "How are you, dear? Heard you're having a hard time with school?"

"Yes," She admitted, shaking her head. "Lily's been moved to a special classroom. For kids with emotional disorders—"

"Lily's crazy!" Donna shouted, "I always know it. Line up those dollies, oh, always."

"Yeah, um," Emma looked down, hugging Luke closer to her chest. "She's just having a difficult time. We had a good morning today, though. No major crisis."

"Glad to hear it," He rubbed her shoulder affectionately. "I'm sorry," He nodded and she understood the meaning behind his apology.

"Can I hold Will?" Donna asked, pointing to her grandson. "He's always a good baby. No spankings."

"No, we do not spank baby Luke," Richard corrected, placing the baby in his wife's lap carefully. "Em, I'm going to grab her breakfast, do you want anything?"

"N-no, I'm good, thanks."

Several minutes of strained conversation on Emma's part later, she was thankful that Richard returned swiftly with a bagel for his wife and a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal for himself. Emma looked at the dish and attempted not to gag, as she knew it wouldn't be long before the mushy oats would be the only food she'd be able to hold in her stomach.

"Ricky! I need my drink!" Donna said in an agitated tone, and Richard went to fetch her one. "Terri, dear, could you pass me the knife, please?"

Emma did so without thought, giving the silver cutting tool to her mother-in-law, who neatly sliced her bagel open. Emma turned to the boy in her lap, who was growing fussy from being cradled and wanted to sit up. While adjusting the baby in her arms, Emma did not see Donna's attempt to stow the knife away.

"Donna!" Richard screamed upon reentering the room, opening his palm. "You can't have that!"

"I need it!" She sobbed suddenly, trying to fight the cutlery away from him as he approached her fast. "I need it! I need it! And you won't ever give me one and I need it! I need it!"

Her screaming reached a new height and Richard turned to Emma, nodding her out of the room as a team of nurses joined him.

She stood in the hallway, a single tear rolling down her eye as she watched the struggle ensue, with the woman who'd given birth to her husband becoming a stranger, clawing and screaming and attacking everyone within her reach.

After nearly ten minutes, a nurse was able to restrain the woman, injecting her with a high-dose depressant, causing the woman to slump over in seconds.

Once she was placed in her bed to rest, Richard left the room after picking up his grandson's diaper bag and car carrier, then swiftly walked Emma to the door, where they went outside and both collapsed on a bench.

"What...um...what just happened?" She begged to question, not sure if she wanted the answer.

"It, it's getting worse. About two weeks ago, she um...started cutting herself...I guess...self-mutilation is very common among the Alzheimer's population. She's supposed to be under a twenty-four hour surveillance, but it's impossible. I'm looking into other facilities that can keep a better eye on her."

"Oh, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I—"

He placed an arm around his daughter-in-law with a heavy sigh. "It's fine, Em. You didn't know, darling. You didn't know. She's just...losing her mind completely. She's so aggressive, and her memory is in shambles. Mornings used to be good, but...you saw what happened in there. I can't...I can't do this much longer."

She leaned against him, not sure if she should bring up her own troubles. "I know how you feel," She said quietly. "Lily started pulling her hair out two weekends ago, then she stabbed a little boy in school. It was just a pair of blunt scissors and he was alright, but still. It's so hard, Richard."

He rubbed her arm and sighed again. "It feels like you're living someone else's life, doesn't it? Like...these things only happen to other people. Other people have wives that go crazy. Other people have kids that need help. It just doesn't seem real."

Emma's tears rolled freely down her cheeks and dribbled onto Luke's head, forcing the boy to look up at his mother, his face full of mimicked concern. She forced a smile and turned him around, kissing his cheek and placing him on her shoulder. "Every day, I pray. All day, that Luke and the new baby won't turn out with the same issues that Lily has."

"New baby? You're...pregnant?" Richard pulled away slightly and Emma nodded her head in shame.

"We are. It was a total accident, obviously, as we're in no shape to handle another child, emotionally or financially. I don't know what we're going to do...but at the same time, I'm so worried that all the stress is going to cause me to miscarry, and I just, I couldn't, I—"

She cried hard, with long, panting breaths as Richard rubbed her back. "I just don't know what to do anymore. I've only just gotten Will halfway back on the same page as me," The elder man nodded in understanding, as he and Emma had spoken often over the summer about their thinning marriage, "And I'm so paranoid that all this is going to make us fall apart, and—"

"Hey, hey, honey." He sat her up and brushed the tears off her face as she held her son close. "Will isn't going anywhere. I know he's been distant from you, but he's not going anywhere. If he even thought about it, you sure as hell better believe I will put him right back in line. You've got nothing to worry about in that regard, alright? Yeah, he's just as stressed as you, but he loves you, and Lily and Luke. He's not going anywhere."

Emma sniffed until her composure came back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lay it all on you, obviously you've got your own things to deal with—"

"No, Emma, no," Richard kissed her forehead. "We're family. We'll work through this all together, okay? How about you come over and we'll get both of us something to eat?"

* * *

><p>Will watched his daughter through the observation window the following morning as she cried while being moved from playing with Little People to a quiet corner after throwing a tantrum over not wanting to join the rest of the students on the rug.<p>

Emma kept her eye on her husband's reactions towards their daughter's behavior, the corners of his mouth curling downwards and his chest heaving in frustration being the keys that he was on his last bit of patience with the issue.

"I know that behavior doesn't change in three days," He started, shaking his head, "But when the _hell_ is this going to stop?"

Mrs. Riley caused them both to jump when she said, "I'm afraid we can't have a target date set for behavior modification. I hate to say it, but every child is different...I'd like you two to join me in my office, if you have a minute."

"Sure," Will nodded and followed the woman down the hall, Luke's seat tight in his palm while the baby slept, his wife's hand laced in his other. They each took a seat with nervous anticipation as she cleared her throat.

"I don't have much hope to offer either of you right now. I'd like to show you both this," She said, pulling out a sheet of paper. The top said IDEA, and both Will and Emma were well aware of what the document would contain. "As educators, you both know that this is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and that in order to qualify for services, Lily would have to meet one or more of the characteristics of having an emotional impairment, as stated by this."

Emma crinkled her brow, knowing what the requirements were for such circumstances. "And...she doesn't meet...any of them?"

"On the contrary," Mrs. Riley cleared her throat again, turning the page where several sentences were highlighted. "In the three weeks I've been with Lily, I've observed six out of ten of these characteristics with her behavior."

Emma's mouth fell open and her eyes immediately read through the list that she'd seen multiple times in her experience with counseling, never having imagined it applying to her own life.

_An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers or teachers  
>Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances<br>A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression  
>A tendency to develop physical symptoms of fears associated with personal or school problems<br>Is consistently exhibited in two different settings, at least one of which is school related  
>Behaviors are extreme, chronic, unacceptable<em>

"This...this...oh my god. How could this be? Maybe...they're all just temporary behaviors. How could my daughter possibly...I just...I don't understand. It wasn't like this last year! I mean, she was grumpy...and upset, often...but she didn't act out like this."

Mrs. Riley swallowed. "I'm really baffled by her behavior. It's clear to me that she comes from an extremely loving home. There are no signs of physical abuse on her. Her stature is small, but she's not malnourished. She's not neglected. Unless something else happened that the two of you aren't aware of, like...if she was left with a relative for a long period of time or a neighbor, that maybe one you thought you could trust—?"

"No!" Will slammed his hand on the arm of a chair. "She stays with my dad, or two of our other babysitters whom we trust implicitly and know with full certainty that they have the best interests of our daughter in mind. This isn't from any sort of abuse!"

"Okay, alright," The psychologist cringed. "It's just...with her symptoms, this just seems like the most likely cause. With you stating she wasn't aggressive before, and that she is suddenly detached from you rather than showing an extreme fear of separation."

"Well, what are the other causes?" Emma asked, trying to keep an open mind.

"Sometimes these behaviors manifest after a child was exposed to drugs when develop—"

"No," Emma glared at the woman before her. "Absolutely not. I was the most cautious woman—"

"That's why I didn't suggest it and that the symptoms likely would have arose sooner," Mrs. Riley defended herself. "The other potential causes include parental stress, inconsistent expectations and rules, confusion, and turmoil over long periods of time. And if we've ruled out the possibility of abuse, that's all I've really got to go on at this point. I don't know what your marriage is like, and I don't know if it could have affected Lily. If there's a lot of arguing, it very well could have. If you've never had a set form of discipline, you know, this is Lily's way of acing out because of it. And given the episode of PTSD last fall, I'd say she's been under a fair amount of confusion and turmoil, with a new baby distracting from the attention that she used to receive. These things can all add up into creating the behaviors we see today. I'm not calling you bad parents. I just want you to understand that if these are the causes of Lily's severe anxiety, you can work on reversing them. It won't be easy, as you see the magnification of them, but they are solvable."

Will and Emma were both quiet as they took in the new information.

Neither had given much thought to the possibility that they were the cause of their daughter's disability.

"So...this is...our parenting? This is our fault?" Emma questioned quietly, playing with her fingers in her lap.

"I don't know that I would consider it your fault," Mrs. Riley stressed. "I think that there's simply forces in your lives that none of you could control. I know you've just had a second child, and that causes a lot of stress for the older sibling, especially one with preexisting anxiety like Lily. I think that she truly believes that you love Luke more than her. I tried to get her to talk to me more about it yesterday, but she became extremely upset."

Will huffed in his seat as he caught sight of the time. "I honestly want to stay to discuss this, but I've got to get back to McKinley," He said standing. "I'd like to have another official meeting, soon. With the whole...team of people."

"We do them once a month, usually," Mrs. Riley stated. "It's hard to get everyone together, but we'll do our best to have one as soon as possible."

"Thank you," He mumbled quietly, dropping a kiss on Emma's forehead before giving his son a longing look. "I'll see you when I get home."

She waved without enthusiasm, turning to face the psychologist once more. "What can we do, now, to try and help this?"

"What needs to be done, across the board, is having a specific, set discipline. For home and school. There need to be clear expectations for Lily, written out, with pictures, so she knows the rules. You need to go over them with her constantly, and we will do the same here. You tell her what the consequences are for breaking them, or for following them. Setting these will help eliminate the second part of what I was talking about before. You and your husband will have to work on the parental stress. I don't know what goes on in your marriage, so I really can't help you there."

"Thank you, Mrs. Riley," Emma said after a few moments of silence. "I'm going to...take Luke and try and think about all of this."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Schuester. I'll see you next week."

When she got home, Emma woke Luke up and placed him on his stomach on the floor of the living room, atop a blanket with toys scattered around him. After playing with him for nearly fifteen minutes, her phone rang, revealing a familiar number.

"Emma? This is Dr. Romano."

Emma swallowed hard as a rush of nerves surged through her body. "Hi...Is, um...is everything alright?"

"Well, I'm just looking at the results from the blood we drew on Monday...and I'm confused because you said you weren't trying to get pregnant?"

"Gosh, no," She responded quickly. "We just went...one night without protection. That was it."

Dr. Romano shuffled a piece of paper that carried over the phone. "Our results indicate you have an extremely high level of TSH in your blood. This is usually only considered normal when the mother is taking fertility drugs. Are you sure you weren't taking any over-the counter herbs or vitamins that might have caused this?"

"No, I really haven't. Like I said at the appointment, all I had was Xanax once and very few caffeinated beverages. I've been very careful."

"Alright," The doctor sounded unconvinced. "I'd like to see you back sometime next week, though, so we can redo the tests and see if there was a human error. This just isn't adding up."

"Is, um...is it dangerous? To the baby?"

"No, your baby will be fine. Just please stop in sometime in the next week for a redo."

She hung up after a quick goodbye and Emma shook her head, willing the universe to give her a break.

* * *

><p>The following afternoon, Emma paced anxiously along the grass of their driveway as Will buckled a crying Lily in, who was less than excited to spend the weekend away from home. "Are you sure you want to take them all by yourself?" Emma questioned. "I can take Luke, I really—"<p>

Will cut her off with a kiss, insisting he had the weekend under control. "I'm not going to call you if things get crazy. I want you to just relax. Take the next two days to do nothing but breathe and anything you need to do to de-stress. I love you and I will see you on Sunday night."

He kissed her again and she promised her love to him as well, waving as her family backed from the driveway for their trip to visit family.

Her night was spent cleaning and taking a long bath — her old methods of relaxation which she'd never quite given up. Classic rock blared throughout the house, and despite a small sense of missing her children and husband, Emma hadn't felt at such an ease in a long time.

She felt herself getting lost in the music, singing along with Billy Joel or dancing with her mop to the sounds of Guns and Roses. She'd forgotten what it was like to get so wrapped up in the music, to be lost in it while becoming one with the melody at the same time.

Perhaps Will taking Glee back would bring them something they'd been missing. Maybe having the music back in their lives would be the calming force they'd needed for the last four years.

Before turning in early for the night on Saturday, Emma took hold of the manilla folder from the obstetrician's office they'd received earlier in the week. She laid it across the quilt on her bed, opening it with a hard swallow when she saw the picture of their third child. It was blurry, as the embryo was tiny, barely the form of a human yet.

Her eyes misted over as she traced the outline of the life on the page, wishing she'd waited a few more weeks before getting an ultrasound. Nine weeks was too soon to see anything clearly, and Dr. Romano had suggested they wait — but Emma needed a picture of her child. She needed a daily reminder, besides the inflation of her stomach and the nausea she endured throughout the week, that this was her baby. It wasn't something she could forget about, despite every other stressor in her life. Her body was once again not her own, as it sheltered the life she and her husband had created.

A tear slid down Emma's face when she contemplated the new baby, which wasn't made out of love as her first two children had been. It was conceived in frustration and anger; through a selfish motive and a careless abandonment of protection. The child itself would stand for everything that was wrong in Will and Emma's marriage; their breakdown in communication and intentions gone wrong.

She took the picture and slid it into the wooden panel that held a full-length mirror to the wall of her bedroom, careful not to let the corners bend. Slowly, she undressed, until her reflection depicted her as she truly was. With both hands, she cupped her belly, which was barely showing signs that a child was beneath the skin.

In a cracked voice, Emma nodded and stated, "Hey, baby number three. I, um...just wanted...to talk, a little bit. Lately, I'd been...hiding how I really felt and covering up my emotions, but I can't do it anymore. I'm going to give it to you straight, because I think you're strong enough to hear it without crumpling, like I probably would. You're different from me, in that way. I know you're going to be a little fighter. I can tell because you're still here, despite the emotional and physical stress I've put on my body in the past few months.

"I've got to be honest, I'm really not ready for you. Your Daddy and I are just now getting along, and I'm really worried that when you come along...we're going to lose that. It happened with your big brother...wow, it's hard to picture Luke as somebody's big brother...but, um...I just really hope history doesn't repeat itself.

"Not that any of this is your fault, of course. You're innocent. Completely blameless. Perfect," Emma paused as she choked on the last word, rubbing the bump a little faster. "And no matter, if you're a boy or a girl, if you've got...ten toes, or eleven...or nine, if you're gay or straight, anything that society doesn't want you to be...it doesn't matter, I'm going to love you with all my heart. You, and Lily, and Luke, and Will...you're my entire world. I'm not saying it's going to be easy...with your sister...and her...difficulties, and Luke being so close to you in age...It's going to be really hard, sometimes, for me to show you just how much I love you."

Her eyes stared deep into the ultrasound picture and Emma sighed. "But I promise, no matter what happens with Lily, or Luke, or your Daddy and I...I will always love you. I'm your mother, and just because I wasn't ready for you, doesn't mean I don't want you. And who knows...you might just be the saving grace we've been looking for around here."

* * *

><p>"Hello?" Emma mumbled into the phone late that night, barely recognizing the fact that her father-in-law wouldn't be calling her if it wasn't an emergency.<p>

"Emma? I-I need...Will, please...the hospital, and—"

"Richard?" Her voice became panicked as the man was making no sense. "What's going on?"

"D-Donna...she...she...emergency room...and—"

"I'm on my way," Emma responded, "Just...try to stay calm, I'll be there within minutes."

She hung up and darted around the room, pulling on a pair of yoga pants and one of Will's sweatshirts, toeing shoes on and pulling her hair into a ponytail in the same motion as she grabbed her purse and opened the garage door, flying down the road to be at the Lima hospital within nine minutes of receiving the call. She asked at the front desk for Schuester and was directed down a long hall, where her father-in-law was propped up against a wall, his hands covering his face as his shoulders shook.

"Richard!" Emma shouted, running towards him, taking both his arms in her hands with concern. "What's going on?"

"Where-where's Will?" Was all the elderly man could blubber and Emma shook her head.

"He's up visiting Dan and Cat with the kids, Richard, what is going on?"

"D-Donna...she...she got a hold of...a...a knife and...and...no one had checked on her in hours...and they...they don't think she's going to make it, so much blood, and—"

"Oh, god," Emma breathed, wrapping her arms around the man tightly. "Oh, god, Richard..." She had no idea what to say and they both lent on one another, crying in a prayer that a doctor would come out with good news.

Unfortunately, the good news never came.

* * *

><p>And here you thought things were looking up. (Again, I am a troll. I apologize.) Is it angsty enough for you, yet? Nothing else bad can happen now, right? ...I'll just go into hiding now.<p>

Thank you all for reading and thanks once again for the reviews! The vote was nearly unanimous to keep the chapters long (this, of course when I'm having difficulty getting the next one past 7k, but really it's the editing that takes forever, not the writing). It means **a lot** to see most of you believe this is realistic. I'm doing my best to keep it believable. (And by my best, I mean sitting in my professor's office for two hours while we diagnosed a 'hypothetical child with a serious anxiety disorder...let's call her Lily' using various scales and tests, then determining=g what the best course of action for treatment would be, spending hours on the internet researching Alzheimer's disease and speaking to a psychologist about the manifestation of accidental suicide in such patients, and so on, and so on — in short, I'm doing the best I can to make this believable!)

Next Chapter: The straw that breaks the camel's back and the burial of more than just a body.


	4. Chapter 4

Will let out a silent sob and pulled Lily to his chest, her sleeping form stirring as she mumbled incoherently. He clutched her tightly with one arm, the other stroking her curls as his entire body shook. She slowly became more awake and rubbed her eyes, blinking hard as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"Daddy?" Her high-pitched voice rang through the basement of his cousin's house, where they were sleeping on a pull-out sofa bed. "What are...why are we awake?"

He couldn't respond, simply let out a noisy wail that had his daughter's heart rate increasing and panic shooting through her veins. "Daddy! Why are you crying? Am I a bad girl? I didn't mean to do it!" She said in a rush. Will shook his head and simply held her tighter, letting his tears drip into her red curls. He knew it was irresponsible to use his daughter as comfort, but without Emma in his proximity, Lily was all he had to turn to.

Lily realized it wasn't her who was at fault, and some part of her emotionally disturbed mind realized that her father was deeply wounded in some way. She didn't know the meaning, but she knew she could help.

"Daddy, it's okay. I love you," She looked up with wide, innocent eyes, taking the back of her wrist and wiping away the wet trails from his cheeks — but she couldn't prevent new ones from forming. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, phrasing what she'd heard him ask her so many times.

He let out another choked cry from the depths of his gut and twisted the ends of her hair around his fingers. He had no words to speak with, just the most honest expression he could muster in his state.

When ten minutes went by and Will's mind was still empty of answers for his daughter, as he didn't have them for himself, Lily worked her way out of his arms, which he didn't fight, and reached for the cell phone that was on the night stand. She slid the sleep function off, revealing the home screen, where she knew how to access the contact book, and scrolled through the contacts until Emma's face appeared on the left hand side of the screen. She tapped the surface, and pressed the green button next to the image of her mother, holding the device to her ear.

"Will," Emma's voice was strained on the other end of the line and Lily shook her head, not aware her mother couldn't see.

"No, Mommy."

"Oh, sweetheart," Emma sighed, sniffling. "Why are you awake, baby?"

"Daddy is crying really bad and he was holding me and I didn't do anything bad, but he just keeps crying."

"Okay, okay. Listen, Daddy's really sad right now—"

Lily scratched her head with the hand that wasn't cupping the phone to her ear. "Mommy, are you crying, too?"

Emma's tone switched to one of authority at the question. "Lily, listen to me. Daddy is very upset right now. You're going to be coming home in just a little bit. Cousin Dan is going to drive you, Daddy, and Luke back home. Because Daddy is so sad, I need you to be extra, extra good. Honey, Daddy can't handle any fits or tantrums right now. I need you to listen and do what you are told without crying."

The four-year-old nodded. "Okay, okay. Mommy, I will be a good girl. For Daddy. I'll be a good girl."

"Thank you, Lily. Do you think you can help me out by packing up all your toys and putting on some clean clothes from your suitcase?"

"Yeah! Yeah, Mommy, I can."

"Alright, good girl. Listen, give Daddy a big hug, clean up, get changed, and call me again when you're done. Can you do all that?"

"Yes, yes I can!"

"Alright," Emma heaved a sigh of relief. "I love you, baby girl."

She hung up and Lily gingerly placed the phone down, turning to hug Will's shoulders, as he had moved to prop himself up against the headboard of the full-sized bed, with his knees drawn to his chest protectively.

Will sighed at her touch and moved one arm out to hug the girl back.

"Daddy, Mommy said for me to clean up my stuff and get dressed. I'm going to, okay?"

She didn't wait for his response as she stumbled around the room, moving the few toys she'd brought along into her suitcase and changing into a bright pink sweatsuit. She combed through her hair gently and nodded to herself as she finished the activities her mother had instructed her to do. Taking a little initiative, the four-year-old gathered the baby toys that had been spread out on a blanket for Luke earlier in the day and packed them into his bag, attempting to fold the blanket as neatly as possible before placing it away, too. Looking around the room, she saw nothing else that she could clean up, and once again dialed her mother on the phone.

"All set, Mommy. I did it all. And I cleaned up Luke's toys, too."

Emma gave an invisible smile and thanked her eldest child before asking, "Could you peek into his bed and see if he's still asleep?"

Lily stood on her tip-toes, sneaking a glance at the baby in a pack-and-play. "He's sleeping," She whispered.

"Thank you. Now, keep the phone with you and go upstairs to see if Dan and Cat are moving around up there."

She slowly ascended the staircase, one hand clutching the phone to her chest while the other kept hold of the railing for balance. "Mommy, it's dark up here," She said quietly.

"Can you go down the hall?"

Lily was apprehensive about walking around the strange house alone in the dark, "Mommy, I...it's really dark, and—Dan!" She shouted, running towards her older second-cousin, who's arms were outstretched towards her. "Mommy, he's right here."

The sandy-haired man took the phone and spoke in a low tone to Emma before moving to the kitchen, where he took Luke's car seat and assured the woman. "Yeah, I'll drive safe, Em...Cat's going to follow us, and she's already made a hotel reservation for the next few days — I know, but you're going to be going through enough without having us there to worry about. It's fine. We'll be leaving in about ten minutes, so I'll see you close to seven. Alright. Bye."

"Dan, why are we going home so early? Why is my Daddy crying?"

Her obese cousin let out a long sigh before kissing her cheek. "You know what, kiddo? I want your Mommy to be able to sit you down and talk with you about it. For now, just know that everything is going to be alright, eventually. But your Daddy and Mommy are going to be sad for awhile."

"Is it 'cause I had to go to the new preschool?" Lily questioned, starting to cry. "I didn't want to! I just couldn't stop being so bad, and—"

"No, it has nothing to do with that." They arrived at the bottom of the stairs, where Lily looked hopelessly at her father, who was still in the same place he was on the bed.

"Daddy," She said, scrambling out of Dan's arms, "Daddy, Dan's driving us home. You got to put clothes on."

He looked up to watch his daughter digging through his suitcase, rummaging until she found a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt, placing them in his lap. He sniffed hard as her innocent eyes bore into his wet ones, making him cry in astonishment. "Lily," He managed to utter, "I love you, baby."

"I love you, Daddy! I'm going to get an outfit for Luke!"

Discovering a fresh onsie in Luke's bag, Lily moved to where Dan had the groggy baby on the ground, changing his diaper. Just as he fastened the side, his wife called from upstairs, and he crouched to his knees, addressing Lily, "Could you watch him for just a minute?"

The little redhead nodded and knelt to her brother's level while her cousin ran up the steps. Lily shrugged and unsnapped the one-piece outfit, having dressed her dolls enough times to know how to fasten snaps back together, even though the fine-motor skill wasn't completely developed, with enough time, she could do it.

Luke was still waking up and relatively still in his sleepiness, giving his big sister the edge on dressing him. She worked his legs into their respective holes, closing the portion below his waist before awkwardly, yet carefully bending the baby's arm to fit in a sleeve, then worked the fabric behind his back until it reached the other side of his body, finally covering him. With a little patience at his now-squirming frame, Lily managed to secure all the snaps with a triumphant smile and leaned over to kiss the baby's temple, as she had seen her mother do nearly every time she changed him.

Luke's bright brown eyes bore into Lily's as his arms flailed before her, his legs kicking in excitement over receiving her attention. "Hi, baby brother," She giggled, bending over to give him a hug, yelling a little as he grabbed a fist full of her curly hair. "Hey! That's not nice," She reprimanded, unlatching his fingers, which he then placed into his mouth. "Are you hungry? I'll see if Daddy put a bottle in the fridge!"

She bolted up the steps, flinging the white cooling device open, giving a pint-sized fist pump when spotting the drinking device and sprinting back down the stairs. Luke's arms moved in circles again at the sight of Lily with nourishment. She sat behind him, pulling him up into her lap so his head was propped against her belly, and popped the nipple into his mouth, where he sucked hungrily. "Good boy, Luke!" She cheered, kissing the top of his head, meeting her father's eyes.

Will stared at his daughter in awe, in disbelief that she was not having a panic attack in response to his meltdown, and was actually taking on a role of responsibility in the stressful situation. He moved cautiously toward Lily, sitting on the floor next to her and rubbing her back, earning a beaming smile. "Daddy, I'm being good."

"Thank you," Will mouthed, leaning to press a kiss to the top of her head as Cat and Dan joined them in the basement.

"Ready?" Dan asked, heaving suitcases to his shoulders and nodding the family upstairs.

"No! Luke is still eatin'!" Lily hollered, "He needs to finish!"

"He can eat in the car," Cat insisted, reaching for the boy and buckling him into the baby seat, where he let out a loud wail and reached for his sister.

"He's mad at you, stop!" Lily insisted, pushing her cousin's hands away and moving to place the bottle back in Luke's mouth.

"You can feed him in the car, hon, we've got to go," Dan insisted while his wife took the handle of the carrier while Luke continued to scream, both moving up the stairs.

Lily's lower lip trembled and she threw herself to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and shaking her head as she began to cry softly. Will recognized this as the early signs of a full-fledged meltdown and crawled back to her level, pulling her into his arms. "I was jus' tryin to help, Daddy!"

"I know," He whispered, voice strained, standing with her in his hold, reaching down for the half-empty bottle and gave it to her to hang on to. He didn't have any other response or comfort in him as he took the stairs one at a time, walking zombie-like out the door to his vehicle, where Luke was already set and Dan was in the front seat, while his wife had their own car started, ready to caravan behind.

He squeezed into the middle seat in the back, between his two children, giving Luke his bottle back and securing Lily in her booster before nodding to his cousin to head out.

Once Luke had his food, he was silent, and at his calming level, Lily also returned to a happier state. "Daddy, are you still sad?" She questioned, her eyes burning through him.

Will only had the energy to nod as he placed his hand in her lap, where she began to play with his fingers. He eyed the clock, noting that they'd be home before eight in the morning, for what was sure to be the longest day of his life.

* * *

><p>Lily had fallen back asleep halfway through the ride back to Lima, which Will had been thankful for. He didn't want her to see him in another state like he had been that morning, which he would undoubtably be upon seeing his father and wife as they pulled into his driveway. He asked Dan to carry his kids in first, placing Lily in her own bed for the first time in weeks, while Luke went straight to the crib. Meanwhile, Will forced himself out of the vehicle and gripped the doorknob on garage door and entered the hallway cautiously, feeling as if his body were moving at a robotic, autopilot speed.<p>

He caught sight of the back of Emma's head as she spoke in a low tone to his cousin, who clapped a hand around her upper arm before nodding and leaving out the front door where Cat was idling on the side of the road.

Emma sighed and spun on her heel, meeting Will's expression with tear-filled eyes and padded towards him as if in slow motion before she gave a weak smile and cupped his cheek with her palm.

At her touch, Will crumpled, falling to the floor with a loud sob, where Emma met him, pulling him into her hold, rocking him slowly as her own tears spilled down her cheeks and into his hair. She wanted to give him all the time he needed to pour his emotion out. She had no idea what he was going through, what he was feeling, and could do nothing to offer him sympathy. Instead, she simply held him, combed her fingers through his curls and pressed kisses to the top of his head.

After nearly half an hour of straight mourning, Will pressed his wrists into his eyes, the pressure relieving as his entire head felt swollen from the crying — and he knew it was only going to get worse as the day progressed.

"I'm going to get an Advil," He muttered, standing. Emma shook her head and directed him to the sofa.

"I'll get it, sweetheart."

She returned a few minutes later with a piece of toast smeared in peanut butter and a glass of water alongside the medication he requested. "You need to eat before you take it."

"Em, I'm...I can't...stomach food right now."

"It's only going to feel worse if you take that on an empty stomach. It's going to be a _long_ day. I don't want you feeling sick on top of it."

Will shook his head as he reached for the bread. "It's too late for that. Where..." He sighed, trying to collect himself enough to articulate thoughts. "Where's my...D-dad?"

"Sleeping, in the guest room, in the basement. You're, um...going to have to go to the funeral home around three today. To make arrangements."

Will chewed slowly, every bite feeling like a drill to his sensitive brain. "What...how did this happen? How come no one saw this coming and tried to prevent it?"

Emma shrugged. "I guess your dad...must not have mentioned that...she'd been...cutting herself, in recent weeks." She took a deep breath, willing the lump of tears away. "And...obviously she got a hold of a...knife at some point yesterday and last night...they found her, when they were doing rounds at three. She still had a slight pulse...but she'd just lost so much blood, Will," Emma cried, "So much...and they took her to the ER, but...Will, there just wasn't anything they could do."

Will's mouth dropped and he felt the few bites of toast he'd eaten rising back in his throat. He willed it back, visibly shaking. "What the hell kind of place are they running?"

"We can't pit all the blame on them—"

"And it was my mother's fault? It was her fault that she had a mental illness? That she couldn't control her actions?"

Emma pressed her lips together. "No, it wasn't your mother's fault, either. It was the Alzheimer's. Suicide," Emma said the word with great difficulty, "Is common among the Alzheimer's patients. It's all a tragic part of it—"

"This is just..this isn't...this can't...This is bullshit! This is bullshit! I'm going to sue that place, they should have been watching her closer and—"

"Will." His father spoke sharply from the staircase, the strain of a long period of crying evident in his voice. Emma's face fell at the sight of him — he clearly hadn't been sleeping. "Will, enough."

"No, Dad! This is blatant negligence! It could have been avoided! She should still be here!" He yelled, turning into a cry at the last sentence, tears rolling down his cheeks. "She shouldn't have gone like this, she—"

Richard took slow steps forward, pulling his son into his hold, where Will collapsed once again, falling back to the sofa with his father's arms strong around his back while he sobbed heavily. "I haven't seen her in so long! Not since...since July, and...and I, I yelled at her, and—"

"Sh, sh, sh," Richard whispered, shaking his head against Will's. "She knew you didn't mean it. She knew you would have been there more if you could—"

"But I wasn't!" He screeched, "I wasn't! I could have been there more, I should have been there more!"

"Will, Will—"

"I, I don't even...I don't even remember...remember if I...told her that I loved her—I don't remember the last time!"

Emma covered her mouth with her palm, shaking her head and sitting next to her husband while one hand covered his back. "Will, your mother knew how much you loved her. You didn't have to say it for her to know it."

His shoulders heaved he let out another wail, his face hidden in his father's shoulder. Richard reached one of his hands out, taking Emma's. "Doodle loved you, Will. You were her entire world. Whether you were there everyday to say that you loved her or not. She adored you, even if she couldn't always show that. Even if she wasn't mother of the year...You were her son, her life. She wouldn't have traded that for anything in the world."

Will pulled away and leaned his head backwards on the couch, shaking it slowly. "How is this happening? I just...it feels like I'm going to wake up, and it will all be just...just a nightmare."

Emma pulled his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together. "I wish you could, too. But this is happening. And as sad, and tragic as it is, it's reality. You need time, to mourn, in whatever way you would need to."

He sniffed hard and sat forward, his elbows against his knees. "I think...I'm going to lie down for a little bit. Just...try to not...think, for a little while."

"Alright," Emma kissed the top of Will's head. "Do you want me to join you?"

He was silent before standing, taking her hand in his, "Y-yeah, please. Thanks for asking first, though. I appreciate it."

Richard also stood, moving back to the staircase. "Em, could you come get me after noon?"

"Of course," She smiled softly, taking Will's hand into her own. "I'm going to get Lily—"

"N-no, let her be," Will insisted, tugging Emma's arm toward their bedroom. "I just want you."

"Okay," Emma mouthed as she pulled her comforter down as Will shrugged off his sweatshirt and shimmied out of his jeans, climbing into the plush mountain of their bed.

Emma pressed herself against him, her head resting on his chest while his hand combed through her messy hair. For a minute, he felt a sense of normalcy. A fleeting moment which he captured, tucking it in the back of his mind for later in the day when he knew he'd need it the most.

* * *

><p>Lily crept out of her room, eyeing the closed door of her parent's abode and decided not to knock for entrance. Instead, she poked her head into Luke's room, content to see that the baby was still sleeping, then she sprawled out in front of her mother and father's door, waiting patiently for them to come out and tend to their children.<p>

Without realizing she was doing it, Lily began to pick at her hair, pulling out long, curly strands and watching them fall to the floor, rhythmically. Something was stressing both of her parents, and she was desperate to discover what. She'd put on a brave face early that morning, but only in response to her mother's pleading that she not give Will any additional problems to deal with. She'd been eager to please Emma, after causing so many problems in the week before, she needed something to prove she was worthy of being loved.

Yet, as the hours wore on and the four-year-old received no answers for the peculiar actions of her mom and dad, she began to feel panicked. She needed answers.

Ignoring the pile of red curls she'd left on the floor, Lily stood, knocking slowly on the door to the master bedroom. "Mommy? Daddy?" She called, smiling weakly when it was opened by Emma, who lifted her daughter into a hug.

"Hi, sweetheart. I'm glad to see you. Thank you for helping with Luke earlier today. I'm going to keep that in mind and maybe later this week we'll do something to thank you for being such a big..." Emma trailed off, noting the excessive amounts of stray hairs that were stuck to Lily's clothes. "Honey? Did you pull out your hair again?"

Lily's eyes became clouded with tears, but Emma quickly stopped them, not prepared for dealing with a meltdown. "Hey, no crying, baby. Just answer yes or no and I won't bug you about it."

"Yes!" She cried, hiding her face with shame in Emma's neck.

"No, no, that's all I needed to hear. You're fine, none of this."

"I'm sorry, I—"

Will sat up against the headboard of their oversized bed, "Lily, it's okay," He insisted. It wasn't, but her actions weren't something either parent had the energy to tackle. "Come here, baby."

Emma placed her on the edge of the quilt, feeling sick as Will's face twisted itself while he attempted to maintain his composure while explaining the death of his mother to his daughter.

She climbed into his lap, circling her arms around her father's neck. "Daddy, are you still sad?"

"Yeah, I am, Lily. Can I tell you why?" Lily bopped her head yes and he continued. "Well, do you remember, in the _Lion King_, what happened during the stampede?"

She lifted a brow, confused as to why they were talking about one of her favorite Disney pictures. "Yeah, Simba's dad got hurt. Really bad. Unc'a Scar let go of his hands and he fell into the wildebeests."

"And, what happened, to Simba's dad when the wildebeests ran away? And Simba tried to talk to him?"

Lily pressed her lips together, reflecting on the movie she'd seen dozens of times. "Mufasa couldn't move when Simba talked to him 'cause he died."

Will shuddered at her naive tone towards the seriousness of the situation. "Do you know what happens when someone dies, Lil?"

"They can't move anymore. And you have to run away and never come back."

"Not quite," Emma sat down next to them, kissing Lily's forehead before pushing her hair back. "You're right, they can't move anymore. But you don't have to run away. That's just Uncle Scar being mean. When someone dies, their heart stops beating. And you can't live if your heart stops beating."

"So, Simba's daddy's heart stopped beating? Cause the Wildebeest hurt him?"

"That's right," Will responded. "And what kinds of things was Simba feeling when Mufasa died?"

"He was sad. He cried so much."

Will took a deep breath before stating, "Well, the reason that I am sad is because...My mom died last night. Grandma Schuester died."

Lily blinked, her nose scrunching. "She can't move? Her heart is not beating?"

Will's voice cracked as he responded. "That's right. Grandma is not going to be with us anymore. So, I'm sad about it. Just like Simba."

The apology apparently made sense to Lily, who's lower lip trembled. "I never get to hug Grammie again?"

Emma squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's okay to be sad."

The little girl shook her head. "Where did the Wildebeests come from?"

"What?" Will questioned, stroking her curls.

"That...that made Grammie die. Where did the Wildebeests come from?"

Emma cringed, Lily hadn't had any experience with the topic until this point, and she wasn't about to explain suicide to a four-year-old. "Wildebeests aren't the only way someone can die, Lily. If they are hurt very badly, or if they're super, super sick. Or, sometimes people who are older grandpa's and grandma's just...die because they're old. That's the way things work sometimes, sweetie."

Lily's eyebrows knitted together as she attempted to comprehend all she was being told. "Simba's daddy's heart stopped beating. Grammie's heart stopped beating. Simba's daddy died. Grammie died. Both can't move anymore."

"That's right. And just like Simba, and Sarabi and all the other lions were very sad when Mufasa died, everyone around here is going to be very sad for awhile, because Grammie died. Is this making sense?"

The four-year-old nodded, and a lone tear trickled down her cheek. "I wish Grammie didn't die. I love her."

Will pulled his daughter into his lap, kissing her tear away. "I wish she didn't die, too. But we're going to get to say goodbye to her. When someone dies, we have something called a funeral. We sing songs and talk about all the good times we had with them. Grammie's body will be there, and we'll get to say how much we love her, and how much we'll miss her. She won't be able to move or tell us those things back. But we can still say goodbye before we never see her body again."

"Why not?" Lily asked, stroking the ribbed collar of Will's sweatshirt.

"Because, when someone dies, they don't need their body anymore, Lil. They're not using it. We take their body's to a place called a cemetery, and they are put in the ground. And that's where they stay."

"But the ground is dirty!" Lily protested, "That's yucky!"

Emma gave a weak smile and took her eldest child's hand. "It's just the way things are."

* * *

><p>"Em, I'm just...not crazy into the whole God thing," Will sighed, placing his head in his hands for what felt like the umpteenth time that afternoon. "I don't want a bunch of passages read from a book that I'm not sure I really believe in."<p>

Emma bit her lip at her husband's rash answer. The existence of God was something they didn't talk about for the sake of their marriage. Will's family hadn't grown up in a Jesus-friendly environment, while Emma's upbringing was quite the opposite. Being the daughter of her small town's minister, she had no choice but to accept the teachings she was given. As an adult, she chose not to act on most of her beliefs, yet kept them inside of her. She was convinced Will believed in something. She just wasn't sure what.

"Okay, well...what would you like to do, then?" They'd been bickering for the better part of an hour, with Will's temper having gone from depressed to bitter.

He rubbed his forehead, scratching behind his ear as he looked at a plate of food with disgust. The last thing he wanted to do was eat. "I don't know, I just...I want to get it over with. I want it all over in one day. Visitation, service, burial, done. I don't have the energy to drag it out."

She swallowed hard and nodded. "I think that...there's a reason, they suggest it to be spaced out. I really do, Will. I think it helps you process everything that's happening—"

"My mom's dead, I fucking get it. I've processed that, Emma."

She blinked slowly and stood from her seat at the table, trying to keep the lump in her throat from getting bigger. "When you want to stop verbally attacking me, I'll sit and talk about this with you. Until then, I'm going to try and get some things done before people start swarming around the house." She stormed out of the kitchen, trying to be mad at her husband.

Will squeezed his eyes shut and let a few tears escape. He wasn't trying to be an asshole. He just didn't know how to deal with everything that was going on.

But this time, he wasn't going to let their marriage nearly combust because of his inexperience.

"Emma, wait—"

She turned around, crossing her arms. "I know you need time, okay? Just...please don't take it out on me. I can't, I honestly, I can't handle it. I'm going through this too, Will. She wasn't my mother, but that doesn't mean I didn't care about her. I didn't sit with her every other week for hours on end because I felt obligated to. I loved her despite the fact that she couldn't say my name right most of the time, or that she thought Luke was you and that Lily was crazy. I didn't let that phase me, because I cared about Donna. I wanted what was best for her, just like you did. And I'm so sorry that it ended this way, and I wish we could turn back time and do something to prevent it all from ever going wrong in the first place. I wish that Lily wasn't going through everything she is, I wish I wasn't having another baby, I wish Sue wasn't back at the school to torture you, and I wish that we could just be a picture-perfect family. But it's not our reality, right now. I'm sorry that it's all happened at once. I really, truly am. But I need you to keep your anger in check, because I'm one step away from losing my mind completely."

After her monologue, Emma turned on her heel and stepped onto the carpet of the living room, only to be stopped in her tracks with Will's strong arms holding her in place. "Please don't walk away. I need you. I know you think you're about to lose your mind, but you're all that's keeping mine intact. Please, don't walk away from me, Emma. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I've been so impossible. I only want what's best for my family. I failed in one regard with my mother, and I'm not going to let it happen again."

She loosened against him, moving one hand to squeeze his. "Finish eating, alright? I'm going to get the kids ready to go to Sarah's while we're making arrangements."

Will kissed her cheek and sighed as she pulled away from him without turning back.

* * *

><p>"I want to sing," Will said, with total certainty. "I want to sing something, at the service."<p>

Richard was numb, hardly having spoken to the director of the funeral home since arriving. But at his son's comment, he looked up from his blank stare at a cryptic red stain on the carpet. "You...you sure?"

"Mom always did like to watch me perform. I guess...this is my final performance, for her."

Emma bit her bottom lip, taking Will's right hand into her left. "I think that would be nice, Will—"

"And I want your dad to do the...preaching, thing." He added, nodding affirmatively. "If I'm going to listen to anybody when it comes to that sort of thing, I want it to be Ed."

"Y-yeah, I could...call him. Richard are you okay with that?" She asked, placing her right hand on his shoulder to ensure she had his attention.

"It's fine," He said monotonously.

Emma nodded and stood, "I'll be back."

Stepping into the hall, Emma took a moment to collect herself before calling the man that she hadn't spoken to in months. She wasn't surprised when he picked up on the first ring.

"Ladybug, is everything alright?"

At the tone of panic in his voice, Emma shook her head, not worried if it was visible to her father or not. "No," She choked, sinking to her knees against a wall. "No, it's not."

"What's going on, honey?"

"Everything, everything is just...falling apart...and on top of it all, Will's mom...she-she died last night."

Ed sucked in a deep breath from the other end of the phone line. "What happened?"

"She'd been...getting worse, with her memory and...outbursts. She um...started cutting herself, a few weeks ago. And...she got a hold of a knife, at some point yesterday...and she was cutting...and she lost so much blood...that...they couldn't save her."

"Oh, my god...Em, I'm so sorry. I'm sure that...the Alzheimer's is to blame?"

"Yeah, yeah it is...and...we're all just a bit of a mess. We're at the funeral home, planning the arrangements...Will wants it all over quickly...just a small service and burial. He, um...he would like you, to do the service, if you could?"

"Of course, of course...I'll take the first red-eye to Toledo...I'll rent a car so you don't have to come pick me up, alright?"

"Thank you so much, Dad—"

"Don't worry about it, Em. I'll let you know when I'm on my way, alright?"

She sighed in relief and dread as she hung up, taking a moment to breathe before pulling herself to her feet. The last person she wanted to deal with when under stress was her father, who in recent years made her stress levels higher.

"...and the Life Insurance policy should cover this..." Emma made haste to listen to what the mortician were trying to sell her husband and father-in-law, knowing neither of them were concerned about being ripped off.

"What, exactly, is it?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow as the director turned a page with caskets towards her.

"We'll take you to the show room to see which one you think Donna would like the best, of course—"

"I don't think Donna would really care about having a five thousand dollar casket, actually," Emma said trying to make a point to the men in her life. "I think she'd rather we spend the money on a nice tombstone, that we'll actually be able to see."

The Schuester men contemplated her words and Will raised a brow. "Isn't there a cheaper model, somewhere?"

The grey-haired man behind the desk seemed to furrow for a moment before pulling out another brochure, placing it in Emma's hands. "Now this seems more affordable," She said with a smile to her husband. "Do you agree, or would you like the others?"

"I don't care, Em...It's a box that goes in the ground, it doesn't really matter to me. Dad?"

Richard shrugged. "Donna was always frugal. If it were up to her, she probably wouldn't even want to be buried."

They made the rest of the arrangements, careful to watch being taken advantage of by the business of death itself, with Will deciding he wanted to forgo many traditional pieces of the service. Emma dragged the weary men to a restaurant, where her father called saying his flight would be leaving in forty minutes. The Schuester family ate in relative silence, with the men feeling drained and Emma trying to run through all the plans in her head, attempting to figure out who else they'd need to call.

* * *

><p>"Hey," Emma said quietly later that evening as her father entered the front door of her home. "Um, hi, Dad."<p>

He placed a bag on the floor and reached an arm around his daughter, who'd changed into a flowing top to hide her small baby bump. "Are the kids sleeping?" He asked quietly after pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Lily's out, Luke is probably still awake, but he's lying down. Come on in, I've got you sleeping out here on the pull out couch, if that's alright. Richard's in the guest room in the basement already, he didn't want to be home—"

"It's fine, dear. I'm sure you're tired as well, and I don't want to keep you up."

She gave a weak smile and nodded. "I've been up since three o'clock this morning. If I don't get to bed in the next twenty minutes I'm likely to collapse. But, please, help yourself to anything in the kitchen...you can put your bags and stuff on Lily's bed so it's out of the way..."

Ed raised a brow. "Wouldn't I be crushing my granddaughter?"

Emma bit her lip, prepared to be judged by the preacher. "Well, she's still...sleeping with us, so it's...not an issue."

Her dad smirked sadly and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. "And I'm not going to make it one. Get some sleep, kiddo. I'll take care of myself."

She thanked him silently and ushered herself down the hall, taking a few calming breaths before entering her bedroom, where Lily was certainly not asleep, but crying silently against her father's chest, the cause of her outburst unknown.

"Baby girl, what is wrong, hm?" Emma sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed and rubbing her eyes with her palms, trying to keep herself awake long enough to comfort her child.

Will hugged her tightly, not wanting Emma to take Lily into her arms. Lily's sadness was providing him with a protective feeling, rather than the emptiness he'd experienced all day. "She's okay, Em...I think just overwhelmed. We were talking more about what will happen tomorrow and I think she's just nervous and struggling to comprehend it all. But she's going to be okay."

Emma yawned and nodded. "I'm going to soak in the bath for a little bit...I'm cramping like crazy."

Will shifted a little so Lily was fully on top of him. "In a normal way?"

The mother nodded and tied her hair back into a high, messy bun on the top of her head. "Yeah, I'm...pretty sure, anyway."

She stripped slowly as she ran hot water, depleted of energy. Every muscle in her body was screaming in need of relaxation.

As she settled into the water, Emma sighed and leaned her head back against the splash wall on the side of the tub. The day had been nearly unbearable. She had expected as much, but she knew the difficult part of their entire situation was only beginning.

She knew that Lily's limited understanding of death was going to affect the girl's anxiety.

She knew that the upcoming, sleepless nights and further stress caused by the death of a loved one was going to take a toll on her body — thusly adversely affecting her unborn baby.

She knew that the following day, at one in the afternoon, Will's mother would be buried forever in the earth, and any hope they had at securing a happy future along with her.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

><p>Will stood frozen outside the funeral home doors, his grip on Lily's hand stopping the girl from moving forward. "Daddy?" She questioned, her large brown eyes filled with concern. "Daddy, what's wrong?"<p>

He shook his head and looked down at his daughter. "Daddy's just...a little scared, sweetheart."

She blinked before stating, "I get scared, too."

Will lifted her to his hip, kissing her cheek. "What do you do when you're scared, Lil?"

Innocently, the four-year-old shrugged. "I mostly cry."

Laughing a little somberly, Will shook his head. "I think I'll be doing enough of that," He murmured, turning behind him to see his wife talking in low tones to her father, who walked towards them with Luke chewing on Emma's shoulder. A few moments later, a familiar vehicle pulled into the lot, and Will couldn't help but let his lips curl up at the sight of it.

Shannon Bieste stepped out of her car, wearing a pantsuit and giving a slow wave towards her coworker. She'd offered to take Luke and Lily after the preschooler said her goodbye to her grandmother, as Will and Emma simply didn't think she'd be able to handle the ceremony while seeing her parents in such distress. Luke probably would have been well behaved, but neither his mother or father wanted to risk the chance of having to step out of the service to deal with it.

"Hey," She said, firmly clapping her hand around Will's shoulder and pulling him towards her, starting his flow of tears before he'd even managed to get inside. "I know, Will...I've been there. No one will ever replace mom in your heart, no matter how much or little she meant to you. Let it all out, buddy."

He sobbed and Emma stood next to the two, dark circles beneath her eyes standing out on her pale face. She wordlessly motioned for Lily to step away from her dad and sighed as she lifted the girl with one arm while her own father opened the door.

"I can't do this," Will wailed into Shannon's neck. "I can't do this. I can't. Everyone's telling me it's okay to be weak, but it's killing me, Shannon. My kid is so confused and I'm so sad and angry and..."

"You're hurt, Will. You've been hurt a lot in the past year, I know. It's so unfair," The football coached sympathized, even though she didn't know all the details to most of the events that had unfolded in the previous months. "And being weak now doesn't mean you're always going to be that way. I know you can't see it now, but in time, you're going to be stronger, after all of this. After every storm, there's a rainbow, Will. You're just going to have to search really hard to find it."

He shook against her and Shannon slowly moved them to her car, where she had him sit in the passengers seat as she turned the key back for the radio to come on. "I know that one of the only ways you can really express yourself through is music, Will. And that's good. There's been a lot of musicians who've been through what you're experiencing now. And this is one that I connected to when I lost my own mom, a few years ago."

"What...what happened?" He asked, eyes glued to the floor of her vehicle.

"Cancer," Shannon shrugged. "It takes the best of 'em, unfortunately. And suicide...well, Will, it takes too many lives as well. Too many beautiful lives. We can't understand it. But we have to accept it...anyway...I'm sure you've heard this before...but just...listen to the words."

Will leaned his head back as the strings to a Faith Hill song blared through the speaker. He choked up at the first stanza, but kept his sobs quiet enough to listen to the lyrics.

Shannon sang under her breath to the chorus, "_In my dreams I'll always see you soar across the sky...In my heart they'll always be a place for you, for all my life..._"

Will reached for her hand and joined her in the last refrain, "_I'll keep a part of you in me. And everywhere I am...there you''ll be..._Thank you, Shannon," He breathed as he squeezed their grip.

After soaking his tears with a tissue, Will stepped out of the car and let Shannon guide him inside the building, where Emma was pacing with a fussing Luke while Lily sat silently in Richard's lap while he stroked her curly hair.

Shannon reached for Luke, who calmed at her presence, having been feeding off Emma's anxiety. Will slipped his wife's hand into his own and nodded to the funeral director, who took the immediate family into the room where Donna's body lay.

Emma kept her hand secure in Will's as Richard held his granddaughter close to his chest. The four of them attempted to keep their breathing even as they approached the casket.

Will's tears slid silently down his face as he caught the first glimpse of his mother, tan from the amount of makeup needed to cover the exposed lacerations on her hands and neck. Her face was serene, with her mousey-brown hair curled in the perfect position it always was, her fingers folded across one another. Her outfit was one of her favorites, a black floral dress with a green blazer over it, a pin that Emma had given her clipped above her right breast.

Richard's tears were dribbling onto the front of Lily's dress and she pushed away from him as he moved to kneel in front of his wife. The preschooler shook her head, looking up at her mother for answers to questions she didn't know how to ask.

"Come here," Emma whispered, releasing Will's hand as he, too, knelt in front of Donna, taking his dad's hand. Lily climbed into Emma's arms and the mother stood behind her husband and father-in-law, taking in the sight of the woman who'd lost too much to mental illness.

"That's Grammie," Lily said softly. "She looks the same."

Emma nodded and Will's head fell slightly.

"But...she's not the same," The younger redhead continued talking. "'Cause her heart's not beatin'."

At the statement, both Will and Richard let out heaving sobs and Lily let her own tears fall at the sight of everyone around her's distress.

"I'm sorry, Mommy."

"Sh, sh," Emma insisted. "None of that."

The family remained frozen to their place in shambles, none knowing what to say or do that could heal the pain they felt. "Mommy, my tummy hurts," Lily mumbled, when ten minutes of uncomfortable sadness passed, clutching her little belly. Emma took off towards the door at top speed, barely making it to the bathroom in time for Lily to expel the contents of her stomach into a toilet, crying all the while, muttering apologies between hurls.

"It's okay, honey," Emma insisted, sighing loudly, willing time to go by faster. "It's okay. We're not mad at you. Listen...let's go back in, say goodbye to Grammie for the last time, tell her you love her...and then Aunt Shannon will take you home and you can spend the day with her, okay?"

"Are you going to be sad?" Lily asked, turning around as Emma flushed the toilet and forced the girl to sit on the counter, sipping water from a dixie cup after Emma wet-wiped her face.

"Yeah, sweetie," The older of the two replied, finding no need to argue with her daughter. "I'm going to be sad today. In fact, we're all going to be sad for probably longer than just today. But thank you, for being so good the past few days. It's been very helpful not to have to—"

Lily shook her head and closed her eyes. "My tummy still hurts."

Emma took a deep breath and pulled the girl's hair back, rummaging through her purse for a hair tie to secure it in. She rubbed Lily's shoulders and blew cool air across her neck, trying to distract her. "Okay, sweetie?"

"No," She cried, leaning forward to wrap her arms around Emma, who lifted the four-year-old into a tight hug.

"Oh, baby girl...it's going to be alright. You know, we'll be home before you know it. And we're not going to make you go to school at all this week. We're just going to take a few days to do some family stuff. You'll only be with Aunt Shannon for a little while."

"Mommy, I'm so...sad and angry...and my tummy hurts!"

Emma rocked the little girl, gliding her fingers over her back and kissing her forehead repeatedly, trying to bring her some sense of comfort to relieve her anxiety. "Baby, I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry. It's going to be okay."

The word was back. The Schuester's had been _okay_. Now they weren't anywhere close to alright, or decent. They were trapped in a plateau or unfortunate events, leading to a total meltdown. Now, as Emma swayed her four-year-old around the pristine bathroom of the funeral home, she contemplated never reaching the rung of anything beyond _okay_ in the ladder of her life. They'd been striving for good, struggling for better, longing for best. Now they were below where they'd started, and their once ultimate goal wasn't even in sight.

* * *

><p>After finally calming Lily to the point where Shannon could take her, Luke had begun fussing in the coach's arms, demanding his mother's attention as he witnessed her walk past. Emma held her weary arms out, taking the baby as Shannon followed the crowd that had gathered to wish the Schuester family their sympathy into Donna's room, where she would pay her respects to a woman she'd never even met, and give Will a reassuring hug.<p>

Meanwhile, Emma had a sniffling Lily's face hidden in her lap while Luke nursed to ease his flustered frame. Though she was trying to wean him, Emma's concern was simply to have all four members of her family functioning by the end of the day, and if that meant giving into her son's demands, she'd let it slide.

"Emma," A voice called from the bottom of a staircase that led to where Emma was off to the side, dealing with her children. She looked up to see a familiar blonde tugging at the strap of her purse while ascending the steps.

"Terri, hi," Emma responded, doing her best to cover herself with Luke's little jacket. "I um...guess I wasn't expecting to see you today."

The former daughter-in-law of the fallen woman who's life they were celebrating took a deep breath. "Well, Donna and I weren't ever on the best terms...but...she was a good woman. Despite everything, I never wold have wished this on her, or anyone...I just...can't wrap my mind around it."

The redhead nodded, "It's been a long couple of days. We're just hanging on."

Terri rubbed Lily's back, causing the girl to curl further into her mother. "Hey, Lily-bug," The blonde smirked. "How are you, sweetie?" She didn't respond and Emma shrugged for her.

"Trying to understand it all...obviously we didn't disclose all the details...but we explained it in the form of the_ Lion King_...that when someone dies they can't get back up again, that they can't move...and that when we say goodbye this time, it's the last time. She's starting to get it."

"How's Will holding up?" Terri asked, concerned that the curly-haired man would do something rash.

"Not well, at all...We'd um...just gotten back on the same page after...a few months of arguing..." Emma explained, though she wasn't sure why she was revealing the intricacies of her marriage to her husband's ex-wife. "I'm really concerned that this is going to undo all the progress we've made. He's already shutting down, I can feel it...but at the same time, I don't want to force him to talk if he's not ready and," She took a large gulp of air. "I'm just...I just want us to be happy."

Terri shook her head. "Trust me, I get it," She placed a hand on Emma's knee. "I really, really do. I'm sure you don't want to talk it all through today, though...Just...give him the time he needs, to take this all in. I'm sure he's still in shock. And honestly, I think that he's going to need you more than _ever_, even if he won't admit it to you. When he's mad...just keep in mind that it's probably not at you, even if he is taking it out on you. Gently point that out to him, and...hopefully it'll work out...but, um...I'm going to go in. Call me, okay?"

Emma mouthed a thank you with a nod assuring she'd call, dabbing at the corner of her eyes as the blonde walked away, and was replaced by Sarah, who made Emma combust into tears at the sight of her.

"Oh, Em," The woman took a seat next to her, pulling tissues from her purse. "Here, hon. Hey, Lily."

The four-year-old once again burrowed further into her mother's hold, grunting something inaudible.

"How are you, right now?"

Emma lifted her shoulders. "Wishing it was over. I'm so drained...of everything right now. But...I've got to keep going. Will needs me and once we're done here, I can be there for him," She referenced her children, with Lily kicking her legs in Sarah's direction and Luke unlatching from her. Emma adjusted her dress and patted the baby's back until he burped once. "Could you carry him while I take Lily?"

Sarah agreed and snuggled the cranky baby close while Emma carried an out-of-place Lily down the stairs and into the parlor, where an unexpected mass of people had gathered, waiting in a line to see Will and Richard, then pay their respects to the fallen woman.

"Excuse me," Emma muttered as she made her way through the crowd, finally reaching Will and taking hold of his upper arm to get his attention. "Shall we?" She eyed Lily and he nodded, turning to the relative he'd been speaking to and asking for a moment before following Emma to the casket, where his eyes misted over once again. "Baby...you know this is the last time you'll see Grammie. Say anything you want to."

Lily swallowed and bit her bottom lip. "What-what do I say?"

"Well," Will started, "You could tell Grammie how much you loved her, how you always had fun with her...anything you want to."

The four-year-old felt apprehensive about speaking to the unmoving body, but gave in anyway. "Grammie, I always loved you. I had lots of fun at your house. And I liked to visit you. I love you." She brought her hands to her mouth and blew a kiss to the woman, nodding. "Goodbye, Grammie."

Emma kissed her daughter's cheek and took her husband's hand, leading them both to Shannon, who'd received Luke from Sarah and was ready to go. She pressed a warm hand to Will's before giving him a reassuring smile, took both kids and left the room with Lily waving to her parents until she was out the door.

"Let's...let's finish this up, alright? The service starts in an hour," Emma nodded toward the line of well-wishers.

"Wait, Emma..." Will breathed and shook his head. "I love you. And I just want to remind you of that. Even with...all this madness going on...you're the reason _I'm_ still living...and I want you to...remember that when I get...horrible later. I'm sorry, I—"

Emma cut him of with a long, hard, heartfelt kiss before knotting their fingers together. "I love you, too. We're going to get through this."

As they made their way to the front of the coffin once more, Emma sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Maybe she was wrong, maybe Terri was wrong. Maybe all Will really needed was a reminder of Emma's unfaltering love for him, and _maybe_ he'd be okay. Maybe.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for gathering with us today, as we take time not to mourn the loss of our beloved Donna Marlene Schuester, but celebrate the rich life she had, filled with family, and friends as evidenced by all of you here, supporting one another as we bring her life to a finale..."<p>

Ed Pillsbury drawled on about life and death for awhile, most of his words not registering with Will after they ceremoniously draped a white cloth over the casket, something about representing new life — he wasn't really sure.

A few passages of scripture were read, at his father's insistence, and once again, Will's mind was on the brown box before him, rather than the comfort his father-in-law was trying to provide.

"...And now, some words from Donna's only son, William."

He snapped out of his trance and moved to the podium, where he kept his eyes locked on Emma before turning to the audience before him.

"My mom...wasn't a perfect parent," He started, shoving one hand into his pocket while looking up to keep his tears at bay. "There were times when I thought that...maybe I was doing something wrong...because no matter how hard I tried...I just...couldn't seem to get her...excited about what I was doing. Whether it was winning a soccer game or...getting an A on a hard test...nothing ever really got her over-the-moon for me. I knew she loved me...but it just seemed like...she didn't know how to show it. But...when my freshman year of high school started...and I joined a musical group at school, I started performing...and that changed everything. Mom started coming to my shows, and she always sat in the front row, and was the first on her feet to give a standing ovation when it was over. It seemed that one of the things that...brought us together, was music. She'd always find songs for me to sing along with in the car, on the way to and from practice...she just loved to hear me sing. She even wanted to be first in line to hear me awhile back when I started a music group of my own."

He took a deep breath and shifted his weight before continuing. "Now, in the past few years...things changed. I was married...had a daughter, whom my mom loved endlessly...spoiled her rotten a time or two," He elicited a few chuckles from the audience. "And my mom developed a mental illness." Any form of laughter was lost as he spoke the word, "Alzheimer's. I didn't...deal with it well. It was so hard to accept...and in the midst of all that, I lost the music. And it's about time I get it back. My one regret in my life now, is that...I didn't get to sing for her again."

Will wiped his brow, clearing his throat as he struggled not to cry in his last few sentences of the speech. "It was just...so hard, to see her...to not be able to talk to her about...much because...she just didn't understand...there were days when...she didn't even know who I was. And those were the worst. And in all that frustration, I lost my patience and...I never really...thanked her for everything she'd ever done for me...because she encouraged me to never give up, and...loved me despite many wrong turns I'd taken in her presence...I never thanked her. And I never sang for her...And I won't have that chance again...but hopefully...this song that I'm singing for you, in honor of her...will remedy that, even if only a little."

Pulling his guitar strap around his neck, Will began to strum, an acoustic melody which filled the room. After a few lines of music, he sang along. "_There's no one in town I know...you gave us some place to go. I never said thank you for that...I thought I might get one more chance. What would you think of me now? So lucky, so strong, so proud. I never said thank you for that...now I'll never have chance._"

There was hardly a dry eye in gathering as he played the chorus. "_May angels lead you in. Hear you me, my friend. On sleepless roads, the sleepless go...May angels lead you in..._"

He played the tune to a close, letting his own tears fall as he finished, standing and moving wordlessly back to sit next to Emma, who gathered him into her arms, rested her head against his, and let their tears mingle down their brushing cheeks.

* * *

><p>Will was supported between his wife and father as his mother's body was lowered to the earth inside of a concrete vault, into the gravesite that she and Richard had picked out long before either had imagined passing away.<p>

The vault reached the ground and the chains around it were taken off, the crane driven from view. Richard breathed deeply before squeezing his son even tighter against him. "She's not going to have to suffer anymore, William," He whispered as they watched the cemetery workers begin to line the gravesite with dirt. "She's never going to have to struggle with words or memories again."

"No," The younger Schuester breathed, "Now we're the ones who are going to have to struggle every day, with her memory." He broke away from the two holding him up and stepped forward, causing one of the laborers to stop. "Can I help?" He asked, nodding to the shovel.

The man wordlessly handed it over, and Will slowly dug the tool into the mound of soil beside him, lifting the device and turning it over into the ground, covering his mother. His vision became blurry and his mouth turned down on the third shovel-full of dirt that he tossed into the hole.

Emma saw the physical signs of an emending meltdown and moved towards her husband, reaching her right hand to touch his shoulder.

"Will," She murmured his name, and it was enough to cause him to drop the tool, shaking his head as his shoulders heaved into a silent sob, sending him crumpling to his knees.

Emma joined him on the browning grass in front of the grave, not even slightly concerned about dirtying her outfit. She knelt behind him, rubbing Will's back in slow circles as he wept into his hands.

"_May angles lead you in,_" Emma whispered the lyrics of the song, the crackle in her voice keeping her from being able to sing most of the melody, "_Hear you me, my friends...On sleepless roads, the sleepless go...May angles lead you in_."

Will leaned back against her, his head resting on her chest, and he spilled the last lyric as a final goodbye to the woman who'd given him life. "May angels lead you in, Mom."

* * *

><p>I hope this wasn't too much for anyone. Again, I'm just trying to keep it realistic. But perhaps you'd like to read something a little lighter, maybe even happier for next chapter? I haven't finished it yet, so if you want the angst train to continue on its tracks, I can do that. Or, if you'd like it to detour around something which might open you up to joy, I could take it that direction as well. Let me know if you care either way! Thank you for reading!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

_my body aches when I ain't with you, I have zero strength  
>there's no limit on how far I would go — no boundaries, no lengths<em>

**smut warning**

"_It's time to be a big girl now, and big girls don't cry_," Lily sang along with the radio, bopping her head along with the music as the Schuester family drove to Virginia, for a few days of recovery without the drama of Lima adding to the process. Linda had called the night before, insisting Emma, Will, and Richard needed a break and to let someone else take care of them for a few days.

Ed drove them, with Richard sitting up front, the two men casually talking about anything and everything elderly men discussed. Will sat alone in the very back of the vehicle, staring moodily out the window for the majority of the drive, while Emma was sandwiched between her children's car seats in the middle, taking turns entertaining Luke and Lily with toys and games for the ten hour stretch.

"Mommy, can big girls cry just sometimes?" She asked, earning a smile from her mother.

"Big girls can cry if they need to, honey. Sometimes crying is the best way to let out our feelings."

"That's good, 'cause I'm gonna be five, and I'll probably still cry. Papa, are we there yet?"

Ed smirked at his youngest granddaughter in the rearview mirror. "About twenty minutes, peanut. And there's going to be a surprise when we get there!"

Lily clapped her hands, squinting her eyes in excitement. "Is it a puppy?"

"No," Emma laughed at her daughter. "Lily. There will never, ever be a dog waiting for you, honey. You've just got to let it go."

The four-year-old mock pouted, sticking her bottom lip out and trying not to giggle. The wishes for a dog had begun before she could ever put them into words, and after being told time and time again that the Schuester family would never have a four-legged-beast, it had become a running joke to Lily and her parents.

"Daddy, will you play on the swings with me?" Lily begged, twisting her body around in her seat to observe her father, who appeared less than interested in anything she had to say.

"We'll see, honey," Emma said quietly, pressing Lily's knee in attempt to distract her from Will, who wanted nothing to do with entertaining his children while he was consumed with emptiness.

With another few turns and a two mile hike down a dirt road, the family finally pulled into the Virginian manor, which Emma noted was still in the state of summer, with flowers managing to stay in bloom and the tree leaves with their pigment still intact.

"We're here, we're here!" Lily cheered, kicking her legs excitedly. "Can I play outside?"

"I think we're going to eat first," Emma noted, as it was six in the evening. "Then I will play outside with you."

Suddenly, Lily began screeching as she struggled to get out of her seat, earning a hard stare from both her parents. "Natalie-Natalie, Natalie's here!" She squealed, clapping and trying to get her tiny fingers to release the belt around her chest. "Mommy, I have to go see her!"

Emma looked up with a raised brow as her sister, nieces and nephews ran into the driveway to see the Schuester's, whom the younger ones hadn't seen since the Christmas before.

"Okay, okay, hang on sweetie," She unclipped the strap while Richard opened the door, allowing Lily to jump out of the vehicle onto the concrete, running towards her cousins at top speed.

"Natalie!" She screamed, running into the older girl's arms. "I missed you!"

The ten-year-old embraced Lily, lifting her into a hug. "We missed you, too, Lily! Come on, we're playing pirates in the backyard," She said loudly, turning toward her younger counterparts and racing them all to the backyard.

Emma sighed as she stepped onto the cement as her older sister approached, hugging her younger look-a-like. "How are you feeling?" Annie asked, pulling away to give Emma an up-and-down glance. "Are you..."

"I'm doing alright," Emma said hurriedly, taking Luke's carrier into the crook of her arm and flipping the seat up for Will to climb out. He stepped to the pavement and was immediately engulfed in a hug from his sister-in-law, who muttered various phrases of sympathy.

"Thanks, Annie," He mumbled, pulling away and moving to the trunk to carry suitcases inside. Ed and Richard assisted, each taking something to haul into the Pillsbury family home.

Annie gushed over her nephew as they entered the house, taking him from his confines and cuddling him until her mother rushed the room, demanding the baby after a brief greeting to her daughter and son-in-law.

"He's just too cute, Em! Oh look at all these curls in his hair! He looks just like his Daddy! You need to send us pictures more often," Annie pouted. "You haven't updated his Facebook album in over a month! He's just so big and—"

"We've been busy," Emma said shortly, "And life isn't all about the internet. I barely logged onto a computer in probably two weeks—"

Annie raised a brow and shook her head. "I was just...giving you a hard time, Em...don't—"

"Girls?" Linda interrupted, trying to keep a soft expression while bouncing her youngest grandson. "How about we not argue like we're in high school? Can we please keep this nice?" The sisters had never gotten along the way they used to — not since the birth of Lily.

Neither had an answer and Emma turned to drag a bag up the stairs where Will was laying facedown on the bed in Emma's former room. "Hey," She breathed, flopping next to him and pressing herself up on one elbow, while her free hand massaged his head, earning a groan. "Let me take good care of you tonight, alright?" She suggested, pressing a warm kiss to Will's temple, receiving a nod in response. "I don't know why Annie's here. I saw Kev's kids, but I don't see him...I'm sure she drove the whole clan. I'm just irritated, I didn't want to deal with her—"

Will shook his head. "I don't want to tell you what to do, but...Just enjoy the time you have with your sister. You don't know when it'll be the last you see her," He said cryptically, quickly leaving the room, giving Emma thoughts to mull over.

A half hour later found the family at dinner, the adults finishing while the eight older kids ran around the living room after scarfing down their meal.

"I'm. Not. Hungry." Lily grumbled at the table, folding her arms over her chest.

"Lily, just because we're not at home does't mean the rules change," Emma stated firmly. "You do not leave your seat until you finish eating. And that means you won't get to play with Natalie."

At the threat, the four-year-old burst into fat tears, shaking her head back and forth, drawing the attention of her entire family who hadn't seen a major melt-down from the girl since the Christmas before when she'd ripped a hole in her stockings.

"Crying isn't going to get you up," Will hissed into her ear. "Knock it off and start eating."

His tone only made her cry harder and Emma rested her face in her palm, her brown eyes glaring a hole into the wall across from her as she avoided the stares of her mother and father. Richard was used to the tempter tantrums and through nothing of his only granddaughter's behavior, but no one else seemed to know how to react.

When Lily began kicking her legs and screeching at the top of her lungs, Linda shoed the older kids outside to play again and directed her husband, infant grandson, daughter and Richard to the living room for Will and Emma to deal with their child.

Her face was turning purple in frustration and after pounding her firsts on the table, Lily abruptly stopped her tantrum to say, "My tummy hurts," Where Emma was about to leap into action, but the effort was fruitless as the preschooler spewed onto her shirt and table in front of her, prompting even more tears.

Both parents gave one another a hopeless look and Will stood for paper towel, mopping up the vomit that had wound up on the furniture while Emma attempted to wrestle Lily out of her shirt without getting much in the girl's hair — but the knit top made the task nearly impossible.

"I'm going to get her in the tub," Emma cringed, "So I can wash the chunks out of her hair."

She carried the feisty redhead toward the stairs, with Lily crying into Emma's shoulder, her soiled hair dangerously close to her mother's face.

When placed on the floor, Lily started screeching once more, stamping on the ground outside of the bathroom for Emma to lift her up, begging and pleading at the top of her lungs while the mother ignored the behavior, running warm water and finding suitable pajamas for her child to change into.

Will arrived as Emma was attempting to wrestle Lily's hysterical body out of the remainder of her clothes, all the while avoiding being bitten or kicked. He shook his head in frustration and sat down on the tile of the cramped bathroom next to her and took both of his daughter's hands, forcing her to look at him. She screamed, loudly, and Will all but snapped when he yelled, "Enough! Lily, stop it, now!"

At his rashness, she stilled, her eyes wide with fear, the animalistic instinct that had taken over them twisted into nothing and she went limp, falling to the ground while staring at her father. "Daddy," She heaved, "Daddy, no!"

"Will," Emma warned, "Are you in a place to be disciplining right now?"

"Come off it, neither of us ever are," He muttered, glaring at her, "If this is discipline...you know what? I'm not, I'm not in that place right now. I'll leave it in your capable hands."

She moved to stand in front of the door, arms crossed and mouth set tight. She said nothing and Will rolled his eyes as he attempted to pass around her. "Move, Emma."

"No," She whispered, her eyes misting over. "I'm sorry I said that. Can we please work together for our daughter? Please?"

Will lifted both hands up. "We're obviously the reason that Lily is the way she is. I'm not going to just...stand here and watch her fall apart—"

"Then don't! Please, just comfort her! Yelling isn't going to help. You've got to keep calm and—"

"Because you're doing such a great job at staying calm, Emma," Will spat, "You're not hysterical at all."

"I wouldn't be if you would just be a parent and help me!"

Will's hazel eyes turned away from his wife as they fell on his daughter, who was curled into a corner, crying silently. He shook his head and dropped an arm against his leg. "What do you want me to do, Em? I can't...I'm not a parent right now."

Emma gently slipped her hand into his, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You can't just turn that off, Will. I'm sorry, I really am. I know that you'd like to just shut everything off and make the world stop for a while so you can process everything. We've taken away work, and the responsibilities at home...but we can't stop being a mother and father. Let's just...take a breather and give our kid a bath...here," She closed the lid of the toilet and directed him to sit while she finished getting Lily undressed. She placed the four-year-old in the tub, standing, to rinse the digested food out of her hair, then filled the bath with water, letting the girl soak in the warmth.

"Daddy?" She snuck a glance at him while Emma sudsed her hair.

"Yes, Lily?" He asked, rubbing his hand over his face, leaning closer to the tub.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, kiddo," He sighed, not making eye contact with her.

They finished quietly, with Emma wrapping Lily into a cocoon with a fluffy, yellow towel and Will detangling her curls with a wide-toothed comb.

Once she was dressed, the family left the bathroom, with Lily snug against her father's shoulder. They traveled to the living room, where the cousins were gathered on the floor, laughing over a board game. Lily scrambled out of Will's arms, racing to join them. "Can I play?"

"We're almost done, Lily," Natalie said, shrugging. "We have to go home soon, 'cause we have school tomorrow."

Lily's lower lip trembled once more and she began to cry fat tears of being left out. Emma rolled her eyes and Will flopped onto one of the sofas, not able to take any more whining.

"Don't go!" Lily sobbed, hugging her eldest cousin. "Please!"

Annie stepped in, lifting her niece into a hug. "You'll see us Friday, alright? We're all going to have a big bonfire and watch some fireworks. We'll all be together."

"I don't want you to go!" She shouted, her body quaking with emotion.

"Nat, get everything cleaned up, please," Annie instructed her eldest child as she sat between Will and Emma on the couch, trying to comfort the four-year-old. "Baby, come on now, there's no need to be so upset...Em, do you want to go out for lunch tomorrow, just you and me? Mom'll watch the kids."

"I'm not going if you're just going to criticize my parenting," The sister retorted, opening her arms for Lily to crawl into.

"Emma," Linda chided from the doorway, having been observing the exchanges without commenting.

The youngest Pillsbury child shook her head. "I'm really tired of everything boiling down to how I raise my kids. I'm not going to sit and be talked down to the entire time I'm here."

"Why do you think I'm always trying to attack you?" Annie demanded, standing with her hands on her hips, not caring if her children were watching the argument. She had a point to make, and she was determined to make it.

"You're attacking me right now!" Emma interjected, holding Lily close. "I'm tired of it! So tired of it!"

"I'm not trying to," The older redhead mumbled, resting one hand against her eyes. "Can we please just go out tomorrow and talk? Please? I want my sister back."

At the phrase, Emma sucked in a huge breath of air and a shiver ran through her spine. It was the same group of words she'd used towards Will several weeks previous.

"I haven't gone anywhere," Emma mouthed, words hardly audible through the lump of tears that was forming in her throat. "I just want to be able to raise my family without being judged."

"We don't try to judge you, Em," Linda commented, stepping closer to her girls, "We've just all been where you are, and we want to give you advice to help you through it—"

"You haven't been where I am," Emma shook her head, her eyes glued to the floor. "You haven't. You just haven't. You never have been. And I pray you'll never have to."

Will slid closer and wrapped an arm behind her back, tugging her towards him.

Annie and Linda moved closer to the Schuester couple, both begging the question, "What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Emma whispered, "That I'm discussing right now. If you want to hear the whole story, I'll go to lunch with you, but if you say one word that judges any of my decisions, I'm walking out, and I'm leaving."

The eldest Pillsbury knelt in front of the youngest, covering her knee caps. "You know we've only ever had your best interests at heart. And I'm so sorry if you've felt...attacked, in the past by our suggestions. We'll try to be more cautious with what we say in the future. But we'd love to hear what you have to say...and we'll do our best to just listen to you tell your story, dear."

Emma nodded and hugged Lily, who was falling asleep, to her chest. "I think we're going to head upstairs," She murmured quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Will brushed a kiss to her cheek before mumbling, "I'll bring Luke up in awhile. Goodnight, princess," He addressed Lily. "I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."

Emma carried the preschooler upstairs, opening the door to Annie's former room, making the girl suddenly alert with panic. "Mommy, no! I want to sleep with you!"

"I know you do. But for tonight, Daddy and I really, really need some alone time. You know how sad he's been, right?" Lily nodded, biting her bottom lip as Emma pulled the blankets on the full-sized bed down and rested her body in it. "Well, he needs some time with just me to feel better. I know you help him feel better, too, but this is the way it is for tonight."

"Will you lay with me 'till he comes upstairs?" She begged, her large brown eyes pleading while she tucked her hands under her chin.

Emma shook her head. "No, I'm going to take care of a few things. You're going to lay down and fall asleep before you know it. I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."

Lily let out a whimper as she squinted her eyes shut. "Mommy, please stay with me!"

The mother blinked rapidly, her heart rate increasing with frustration. She'd simply run out of energy to deal with the meltdowns.

"Honey, you were so happy on the drive here. What happened?"

"I just want you to lay with me! Mommy, please!"

Emma was on the verge of tears as she climbed under a quilt, not able to listen to her daughter's cries. "Okay, I'm here. I'm here. Can you please tell me why you're so upset all of a sudden? What made you so sad?"

Lily was quiet, her shaking breaths decreasing in number as she relaxed, curled into her mom's side. "I don't know."

Emma pulled the little one on top of her chest, kissing her hair. "If you don't know why you're upset, I don't know how to help you, sweetie. I can't fix problems if I don't know what they are...listen, I've got to get ready for bed, myself. I'm going to go—"

"No!"

"—And you're going to fall asleep. In the morning, we'll spend lots of time together, I promise."

Emma stood, ensuring the four-year-old was properly tucked in while she cried, standing and untucking herself only to have Emma lay her back down, creating a cycle which after ten attempts, Lily realized she wasn't going to break. She threw herself onto the mattress and hid her face in her pillow, muffling her own screams.

"Good night, sweetheart. I love you," Emma said as convincingly as she could before closing the door most of the way, leaning against it to collect herself before moving to the bedroom to prepare for the evening ahead.

* * *

><p>Will set his sleeping son in a portable crib within Kevin's old bedroom, watching the boy sleep soundly for a few moments before heading to his own room in hopes that Emma wasn't asleep. He needed to apologize for his earlier behavior.<p>

He gently clicked the door open, a smile falling on his face when he found his wife fiddling with something in her suitcase, wearing nothing but a matching, sheer baby doll top and lace panties, having lit a few candles in the darkened room.

"What's all this?" He asked, closing the door behind him and stepping closer to Emma, wrapping his arms around her waist from the back and pressing himself fully against her. She shivered at his touch, in a good way.

She turned around, winding an arm around the back of his neck and playing with the curls she found there, while her other hand then worked to undo the buttons on Will's polo shirt. "It's time that just you and I spend the night together."

Will's eyes were locked on her lips while he slid both thumbs into the waistband of her underwear. "And, um...what exactly will we be doing in this time together?"

Emma's fingers wandered to Will's belt, unlatching it and throwing it to the ground. "I'm going to make you feel better."

His forehead rested against hers as he muttered huskily, "And how are you going to do that?"

She ghosted her lips over his, barely touching them as her nails dragged under his shirt, tracing the lines of his stomach. "Take off your shirt and I'll show you." The cotton top was on the floor before the phrase could even fully leave Emma's lips, and she took a few moments to admire the rippling muscles of her husband's chest before biting her bottom lip playfully and pushing him backwards, where he tumbled on top of the quilted bedspread.

Emma bent down to kiss from his naval to his lips, smirking when Will tried to moan quietly. She rolled to the left, staying off of him for long enough to get him to do what she asked, "Lay on your stomach, Will."

He flipped over all too willingly and sunk in pleasure when Emma's palms ground heavily into his shoulders in the start of a back massage.

"Oh, Em..." Will moaned as they applied various amounts of pressure to the tension that had been stored in the small muscles of his back. "I-yeah-oh," He couldn't form words as she worked her magic.

The occasional kiss to the nape of his neck would follow her ministrations, and Emma didn't stop the movements until nearly a half hour passed and her hands couldn't move anymore. Instead, she lowered her body on top of Will's back, dragging herself across him, until her hands slipped into his jeans, pinching his rear and making him spin around, pulling his wife on top of him with a hungry growl.

He sought out her collar bones as she hovered above him, her fingers twisting their way into his hair while his teeth sunk into the sensitive flesh below her neck, earning a rumble from her throat, which he then kissed and deviated to the left to nip at her again.

When he was distracted, Emma shimmied his jeans down his legs and tossed them to the carpet, then crawled backup him to grind her hips into his, forcing him to grab hold of her waist to keep her rhythm. At the same time, she teased the crevice of his thigh, a place that always made him lurch forward, and clenching his teeth through a groan was all Will could do to refrain from letting go early.

Emma's mouth met one of his pecks and suctioned in a decidedly sensitive spot that had Will's legs twitching as she sucked on the flesh, his fingers found themselves lost in her hair, bunching it to her scalp as his nerve endings burned with need. Emma slid her fingers over the cloth boxers Will still wore, gripping around his clear desire and gaining another primal grunt as she allowed her appendages to dance over him.

"E-Emma," He sighed her name, one hand moving to cup her backside and lift her off his lower stomach so he could remove her panties, laying her out on the mattress and quickly taking off her top as well.

Before she could even blink, Will was out of the final piece of restraining clothing and hovering over Emma, the wild want within him removing every trace of sadness he'd felt earlier in the week.

* * *

><p>"Thank you," Will breathed while pulling Emma across his chest some time later, their bodies sleek with sweat. "I...I'm sorry, for everything I've done, everything I've said because I thought everything in my life was gone...this, this is what...I needed to remind me of what I haven't lost. You, you're all that I ever need. And I'm sorry I sometimes forget that."<p>

Emma let a lone tear dribble down her cheek and onto Will's fuzzy chest. Her goal had been accomplished. They were the close couple they'd always been once more.

"I know you need to mourn, Will, and that's fine. I get it. I just want you to remember that I'll always be here to listen, or just hug you. You don't need to take all your feelings out in such a negative way, like earlier with Lily. Sometimes, you need to scream and yell, and that's fine...just remember who you're saying those things to. I can take it, she can't."

Will sat up against a stack of pillows, pulling Emma with him while pulling a blanket back from their damp limbs. "You shouldn't have to, though. I'm going to make a real effort to work on it. I promise you, I am. When I slip up, please...please tell me. I might not even realize I'm doing it. Please?"

"I will," Emma nodded, sitting up to kiss his nose. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Do you want to shower before we go to sleep?"

She smiled widely. "Yes, yes I do."

The two wrapped themselves in a thin sheet and made their way to the bathroom, bleary-eyed from the physical representation of their love. They took their time bathing, giggling, slipping and touching under the warm water, steam flying from behind the shower curtain.

When the hot water finally ran out, the two spent a few minutes teasing one another while drying off, and once they were finally finished, dressed, and had fresh sheets placed on the bed, were prepared to climb in, with Emma able to snuggle next to her husband for the first time in weeks — alone, no children between them.

"We need to have more nights like this," Will murmured, kissing near the top of his wife's ear while he held her from behind, spooning into her back.

"I agree," Emma replied, twisting in his arms so she was facing him. She pressed her lips to his and smirked. "How about tomorrow night, we do dinner, just the two of us, so we don't have to sit through a stressful meal of battling our four-year-old?"

"Sounds perfect," Will said quietly, kissing his wife's forehead. "Goodnight, Em."

* * *

><p>Luke was the first of the Schuester's up the following morning, demanding attention in the form of a sad wallow from the opposite end of the hallway, forcing Emma from her rest to tend to him.<p>

"Good morning, baby boy," She cooed while lifting him, holding the baby at arm's length. "Wow, you are stinky today! Let's get you changed before doing anything!"

She took care of his soiled diaper and dressed him in a fresh onsie before cuddling him close, letting him nurse to save the aggravation of his whining while she prepared a bottle. After silently creeping back to her bedroom and pulling on a pair of sweatpants, Emma descended the stairs in search of food for herself, as Lily's outburst at dinner the night before hadn't permitted her much time to eat.

Ed was at the counter, sipping coffee and scanning over the morning paper, and Emma blushed to have her father see her in such a disheveled state, with her youngest child sucking at her chest, with a burp rag barely covering him. He didn't seem to mind as he waved her over. "Morning, 'bug."

"Good morning," She replied, sleep still straining her voice. "Sorry I'm such a mess, Luke just woke me up and—"

"You're fine, Em. Want me to make you something to eat?"

"N-no, I'm fine, I'll just get something when I'm done—"

"Come on now, I know you didn't come into the kitchen to have a sit down with me. You've got to be starving, you haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. What would you like?"

A rumble rolled through Emma's stomach that had her feeling a bit nauseated. "Just...a bowl of oatmeal would be fine. What are you doing up so early, anyway?"

Ed shrugged and moved to the stove, boiling a cup of water and facing his youngest as he did so. "Ready for work, I guess. My body's telling me to stay in bed, but then I remember that after Christmas this year, I'll have the rest of my life to stay in bed if I want. I'm retiring."

"What?" Emma gasped, raising a brow. "Dad...wow, I guess I just never thought I'd see the day."

Ed gave a small chuckle. "Oh, I couldn't do it forever. I simply don't have the energy anymore. Besides, I'd like to be able to see my grandson more than twice before I pass on, and hopefully this will give your mother and I the opportunity to travel more, and actually visit you all so you don't always have to come here. Provided you want me around, of course."

"S-sure, I mean...whenever you want to come over...we'll work something out. Who's going to take over for you?"

"We've got a new guy, officially starting next week. Young, married about a year and expecting his first child in November. I'll still be around, doing the occasional service as needed, but I won't be going in every day. Your mom is thrilled."

"About what?" Linda asked, stepping into the kitchen with her arms folded over her chest, a wide smile on her face. "Good morning, Emmie, dear."

"Just discussing retirement plans...would you like some oatmeal, love?" Ed questioned his wife, pulling her close into a hug.

"Oh you know better. Haven't been able to stomach it since I was pregnant with Emma! Over thirty-five years, and I still can't eat it. I'm sure you know the feeling, hm?" She laughed in her daughter's direction, taking a seat next to the younger redhead, who swallowed hard in nervousness. "I know you can't eat it anymore either, right?"

"This is for her," Ed shrugged. "Maybe she hasn't developed a complex over it yet, hm? Unless there's something you're not telling us, ladybug?"

Emma opened and closed her mouth several times before dropping her head, shaking her messy curls with a mutter of, "I don't want to talk about it."

Linda's eyes grew wide and she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Emma, are you...pregnant with a third child?"

A lone, shameful tear dribbled down her cheek and Emma nodded, "Yes."

"Oh, honey...how...you're not..what are you going to do? Where are you going to put a third baby?"

"We don't know, we, um...haven't discussed it too much. With everything going on with Lily and trying to sort through our own problems, we've pushed this aside. Right now, we're just trying to get through one day at a time."

"What's going on with Lily? I mean, last night was...pretty intense. I thought she was doing better?"

Emma shook her head as a few additional tears fell down her face. "Worse. So much worse. She's angry, aggressive, wild...she's hurting herself and other people...It's just so unpredictable. One moment she's a fairy princess, laughing and happy, or helpful...then a minute later she's screaming at the top of her lungs and biting and kicking...or pulling her hair out and...we just don't know what to do."

Ed placed a steaming bowl in front of his daughter and covered one of her hands with his own. "I don't want to say anything, because when I do, I tend to upset you. But, Emma...I'm sure you'll get this sorted out. A third baby will be a challenge, but it's one you've got no choice but to meet."

Luke pulled away from his mothers chest and let out a grunt as he demanded to be held in a more comfortable position. Emma sighed and maneuvered him over her shoulder, patting his back as the baby cuddled into her.

"And it seems that Luke isn't too much trouble," Linda commented. "He's a pretty happy baby."

"He's perfect," Emma nodded. "He's so easy to take care of. Nothing like Lily was...is. I just pray every day that he doesn't wind up in the same position his sister is...and that baby number three is alright, too."

"You know what?" Linda tucked Emma's messy hair behind her ears. "Lily's going to be alright. You know that. It might take time, but with it, she's going to be alright."

Will yawned as he entered the kitchen with the grumpy girl in discussion hanging on his leg, whining to be picked up. "Morning," He said gruffly, giving into his daughter's demands and lifting her to his side, where she hid her face in his neck.

"Oh, gosh, why are you up so early?" Emma asked sympathetically.

He pulled out a chair from the table and flopped himself in it, shrugging. "The bed was cold, and I opened Lily's door to see if she was up, where I found her doing summersaults across the mattress."

Emma smirked. "Are you still sleepy at all, Lil?"

"No!" She shouted, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

"Then why are you so grumpy?"

"'Cause...I don't know! I want to play with Natalie and go outside!"

Emma passed her son to Linda and moved in front of Lily, forcing the preschooler to meet her eyes. "Natalie is at school. Aunt Annie will bring her and everyone else over on Friday afternoon. That's two days away. You have to be on your best behavior until then, otherwise you won't get to play with them."

"No!" Lily cried, kicking her legs up in the air in anger. "I want to play with them!"

"Then you have to be a good girl," Will stated, "That means none of this. If you keep crying like this, we're going to stay here while everyone else has fun up at the park. You have to listen to Mommy and I. When we tell you to stop doing something, you have to stop. If you can just listen and stop crying, we'll go have fun."

The tiny redhead only cried louder and Emma stood in frustration, "Do you need to go upstairs and cool down in your room?"

"No! Go away!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, trying to jump out of Will's arms while her eyes darkened into something feral.

"Will," Emma warned, kneeling at Lily's level, "Don't let go. Lily, Lily, look at Mommy, come on now...we don't need to do this."

Lily screeched and clawed at Will's palms which were firm around her lower belly, keeping her locked in a tight hold.

"Are the doors locked?" Emma asked her parents quickly, who rose to double check the safety features of the home. The mother attempted to reach her hands out to stroke Lily's face and neck to calm her, but was met with uncooperative attempts at biting and scratching.

Their typical 'cuddle and sooth' method to stopping the primal meltdown seemed to be working once again, and as Will's tension on Lily released, so did her anger. She fell backwards against him and sighed. "I'm tired."

Emma lifted the girl and carried her to the living room, stretching her body across the couch and turned on the television, searching for an appropriate children's program.

Finding one, she kissed her daughter's forehead. "It's still pretty early, Lily. How about you lay down and watch TV. If you fall back asleep, that's okay. I'm going to get myself and Luke ready for the day. Let Grandma know when you're ready for some breakfast, and she'll get you something."

She stood, not giving the moody preschooler time to argue as she moved back to the kitchen, taking her son into her arms. "Thanks, mom."

"That was...normal?" Linda questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, that was nothing. Usually there's a lot more screaming and hitting...on a really fun day, she'll try to run out of the house." Emma bounced Luke on her hip with a heavy sigh while she sat and choked back the now-cold bowl of oats.

Will reached his arms around her from behind, kissing her neck and nuzzling his nose against her hair. "Hopefully, when we get home, we'll be working on ways to stop this with the school staff. They think it can be corrected and further behaviors prevented if we start early enough."

Ed nodded, sipping at a cup of coffee. "I would think so. 'Morning, Richard," He commented as Will's father greeted the family.

He mumbled something incoherent, making everyone laugh while he moved toward the coffee pot. Emma stood to hug him with her arm that wasn't clutching Luke and waved everyone off as she moved upstairs to get ready for the day.

* * *

><p>Meeting with her sister, whom Emma hadn't had a decent conversation with in over a year, proved to be more emotional than the younger Pillsbury could handle. Whether it was the pregnancy hormones or internalized guilt, Emma spent much of their afternoon crying over the circumstances of her life, and apologizing for being such a wrecking ball in Annie's.<p>

Around the twelfth time Emma said her sorry for being such a rotten family member, Annie moved to her side of the table and clutched her tightly. "Emma, you're my sister. I'm going to love you no matter what you say or do, know that, alright?"

Emma nodded and dabbed at her leaky eyes. "I'm just such a mess, I'm so—"

"Don't say it," Annie teased. "Come on, let's get out of here. I was thinking that you probably haven't had any retail therapy with everything going on at home, right?"

Emma blinked away tears. "Gosh, I can't even remember the last time I went shopping that wasn't for diapers or formula," She sighed. "That would be amazing."

The women spent the next few hours at a mall outside of their farm town, making purchases on clearance racks for new outfits for their entire family, including some unisex onsies Emma wanted for the new baby, just to feel more like it was apart of their lives.

"I kind of hope it's another boy," Emma admitted, shamefully as she pulled on a three-quarter length sleeved cardigan, trying it on in front of a three way mirror, pouting when the last button was a little snug. "I can't be certain that all boys are as easy as Luke, but even if it's only half as easy, it'd still be a million times less stressful than what Lily brought. I also think it would be easier for her, not to have to compete with a sister."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annie teased, scrunching her curly hair after catching sight of her reflection.

"Well, if it's a girl, they'd be sharing rooms eventually, and I think...I just think having a sister would just be hard for Lily."

Annie tugged the cardigan down Emma's belly, also finding herself cringing when it didn't fit. "Maybe you'll need just a small instead of an extra small, oh the horror. But honestly, did I ever make it hard for you?"

"No, not really. You defended me endlessly and always ensured I was being taken care of. When I had no friends, you were often my only one. But I think it's different, with Lily being older and having...emotional problems. I think that a younger girl would almost...intimidate her. I don't know how to explain it, Ann...darn it all," She muttered, sliding the material off her arms. "A small it is. I'm getting my tubes tied after this one. I just want my body to be my own again."

Annie laughed. "Or you and Will could just be careful. But I know what he's going through, man's gotta get it in when he can—"

"Annie!" Emma hissed, trying not to giggle. "But it's true. Oh, gosh. Let's get out of here before my children drive our mother up a wall."

The sisters opened the front door, shopping bags in hand, to find Lily screeching with giggles on the floor while Will tickled her senselessly, making her little body thrash and squirm when she'd get a ten-second breakaway to run before being captured again.

Emma smiled widely at the sight and dropped her day's purchases to sweep Lily into an amorous hug, just as Will's fingertips were about to enclose her tiny waist into his hold. "Mommy, save me!"

Will growled and bore his teeth at his four-year-old, who laughed uncontrollably, throwing her head forward to press harder into her mother, who sheltered her to the best of her ability. "Are you having too much fun?"

Lily nodded and shimmied down Emma's leg, bolting up the stairs to be chased by Will, who caught her with one arm just as she was about to enter Emma's former bedroom, then tossed her in the air several times before finally pulling her bitty body close to his, hugging her tight. "Okay, okay. I'll stop tickling you. Let's go give Mommy a proper greeting."

They descended the steps, with Will pulling his wife close to him, pressing a warm kiss to her cheek. "Have a good time shopping?"

"Yes, I did. I got us all some new clothes, which I'll show you in just a minute...Lily, what's on your forehead?" She questioned, staring at a large bruise which was forming on the girl.

Will rubbed her short spine. "Your Mom called me about forty minutes ago, or so. Lily was playing outside and running around. She bumped it on the swing set, and it really wasn't that bad, but it was quite the meltdown, of course, so I came home early — I wasn't complaining. I'm not a golfer. Our dad's are still out having a blast, I'm sure...but it's just not my thing."

Emma smirked and nuzzled against her husband, enthralled to witness him seemingly happy. "Do you still want to go out tonight?"

"Well, of course I do." He raised and lowered his eyebrows in mock-seduction while placing Lily to the floor. "I've got the chance to dance with the most beautiful woman from all of Virginia, I couldn't just turn that down. Plus," He winked and placed both hands on Emma's hips, drawing her closer. "There's a chance she just might take me home tonight. And you know what that means," He drawled, nipping her earlobe and making Emma's lower belly flutter before he whispered, "She'll cook me breakfast in the morning."

"Oh, come on," Emma laughed and playfully smacked Will's backside while his curly top attacked the hollow part of her neck, making her giggles continue.

They spent the next few hours entertaining their kids. Will ended up wearing a plastic tiara on more than one occasion, and Luke sat up unsupported for almost ten seconds before tumbling to the side, chuckling and cooing the entire time, making grasps for his big sister, who included him in her imaginary play as a puppy, then chicken, and finally the 'baby giraffe who has to chase the wicked queen and save me, and save the day...Daddy, you're the wicked queen, okay?'

As dinner rolled around, Emma made Lily a peanut butter sandwich, knowing the preschooler was likely to eat it without a fuss. She propped Luke up in his car seat and attempted to spoon-feed him some solid food, which the baby was mostly refusing.

"Why don't either of my kiddos eat?" The mother sighed as she watched Lily pick at her sandwich, taking bird-sized bites and meeting her mother's gaze with a guilty shrug.

"We don't like food," She offered, standing on a chair to climb on the table to get a look at her brother.

"Honey, we don't climb on tables—"

"He says he wants a bottle," Lily interrupted, placing her face near her baby brother's. "He only likes that and the milk from your boobies."

At the sentence, Emma nearly fell over like a comic book character. Will doubled over with laughter from across the room and Linda shook her head while snickering on the other side of the table. Emma stared in horror at her child, not knowing what to say.

"Mommy, is there a bottle in the fridge?" Lily questioned, sliding back onto a chair so she could hop to the floor, scurrying over the tile to tear the door of the cooling device open, reaching on her tip toes for one of the few bottles prepared and dancing across the floor back up to the table, sitting on the surface like before, popping the bottle in Luke's mouth, making his arms flail in happiness.

"See? He's happy now. Me and Lukie just don't like food."

Emma sighed and gave Lily a weak smile. "Luke is little enough that he doesn't _have_ to eat food. You, on the other hand, are a big girl, and I want that sandwich gone when I come back down here in a few minutes."

The four-year-old groaned and pouted as she slid back into her seat, staring grumpily at the bread covered in peanut butter.

Emma found herself standing in front of the mirror in her old bedroom almost ten minutes later, sighing and pouting as she tried to make herself look fun enough to go out to a bar that would likely be filled with twenty-somethings, not pregnant-and-thirty-somethings like herself. Will would be fine, he could blend in wherever he went, but Emma constantly felt hard eyes burning into her wherever _she_ went — people making mental judgements about her innate craziness.

"You look hot, don't worry about it," Will commented from the doorway as she picked at the edge of the dressy tank-top she was sporting. His hands were rammed into his jean pockets, and the top few buttons of his new top were undone, causing Emma to stare with her mouth slightly agape.

"Are you sure? I kind of look like I'm trying to be a sexy librarian. A pregnant librarian. And failing at it."

"Well," Will started, closing the door with his heel and padding across the carpet until he stood behind her in the mirror, his arms winding around her so his hands cupped the bump that was forming above her naval. "For starters, you're not a librarian, so you don't have to worry about that. And you may be knocked up, but that just makes you a MILF. And I like my MILF just the way she is." One of his hands roamed lower, sliding into the front pocket of her jeans while his lips ghosted over a sensitive area on her neck. "And she happens to be very, very sexy."

Emma blushed and turned around in Will's arms to give him a long, enduring kiss.

They snuck out the door, not wanting to give into another Lily-meltdown, which would likely sway their mood for the evening. Rather, the couple arrived at the honky-tonk place, already fairly crowded with local residents — enjoying a thirsty Thursday. The two found a booth for two, where they ordered, Emma sipping on lemonade while Will indulged in just enough liquor to have a blast that evening. After eating, the two danced wit the residents of the small town and even took the stage with a karaoke duet to a Shania Twain song, which had them dancing animatedly on stage, grinning at one another as they sang.

Emma flushed as she let the lyrics roll off her tongue, "You'll be sexy in your socks."

Will's arms rose and he slid across the stage, earning a hoot from the crowd. "We could polish the floors."

"In case anybody knocks—" Emma giggled when Will replied, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

"—better lock all the doors!"

They continued on, each giving a mock-bow as the dance floor participants cheered for them while they exited the stage.

"That was fun," Emma laughed as Will pulled her flush against him for a long kiss against a wall. "I forgot how much I like to sing with you."

Will brushed his lips against her forehead and smiled brightly. "I love singing with you, too, Em...now how about we get out there and boot scootin' boogie?"

They arrived home past midnight, with Emma exhausted, but not tired enough to fall asleep as Will's mouth was firmly connected to her neck, peppering her in hot kisses.

* * *

><p>Lily refused to speak to either parent the following morning when they finally stumbled out of bed after nine, both glowing. The preschooler was exceptionally bitter that her mom and dad hadn't tucked her in and said goodnight.<p>

"She wasn't crying, was the weird thing," Linda confessed after loading her daughter and son-in-law's plates with breakfast. "She wouldn't look me in the eye, and she wouldn't talk after I told her she'd be sleeping by the time you got home. I don't think she's said anything since."

Emma bit her lip, feeling a twinge of guilt — it was the first time since August of the year before that Lily hadn't been reassured goodnight by her mother. She was probably feeling abandoned. Swallowing her brief glimmer of failure, she pecked Will on the cheek and found Lily sitting in a corner behind a lazy-boy, her knees drawn to her chest and fingers picking through her hair.

"Hey, baby girl," Emma greeted her eldest child, not drawing attention to her manic behavior in fear of upsetting the four-year-old further. "Come talk to me, please."

She didn't ask, but directed, insisting the small one listen to instructions. Gently, she encouraged, "Honey, I need you to come out behind the chair now."

"No!" Lily suddenly shouted, kicking one leg out and dropping her hands from her curls. "You come _here_!"

Emma pressed her lips together, folding her arms over her chest. "If you ask nicely, perhaps I will."

Lily whipped her head to the side, her mouth pouting. "Please!"

The older redhead pulled the reclining chair out and made room for herself, pulling Lily into an embrace which was not returned. "Okay, Lily. I think I know why you're so upset. You're mad because I didn't say good night to you — yeah? And that scared you? You thought I'd gone away and wasn't coming back?"

The little girl sniffed and rubbed her face against her mother's chest. "You didn't even say bye to me," She sighed. "You didn't hug me or give me kisses or tell me you love me!"

"Because I knew you'd be upset," Emma said soothingly, kissing the top of the little one's head. "You're alright, though. You know Mommy won't ever leave you. You know that."

Lily swallowed and nodded, reaching a hand up to her scalp, only to have it intercepted by Emma, who kissed each one of her tiny fingers. "Please don't pick your hair. We don't want it all to come out."

"Mommy," The four-year-old said, her voice shaky, indicative of tears, "I don't want to pull my hair out,"

"I know you don't," The mother responded. "I know you don't mean to do it. But that's why we have to go back to school next week, I know, I know," She stated firmly as Lily made noises of fearful protest. "I know it scares you, but Mrs. Klark and Mrs. Riley are going to help you with this." Emma stroked the girl's hair and stood with her attached to her hip. "Come on, let's not worry about it today. Let's get some breakfast in our bellies so we can spend the day playing in the little house by the field."

At the suggestion, Lily sprang from her fit of depression, squeezing her arms around her mom's neck. "That's the best idea I've ever heard!"

The morning and much of the afternoon was spent with the Schuester family of four in the playhouse, with Lily spilling out imaginative storylines, creating intricate plots in sporadic bursts of creativity. Emma would beam at the girl each time she thought of something particularly unusual for the mental capacity of a four-year-old. As the afternoon wore on, Will insisted they all take a break so Lily could nap and be well rested for the festivities of the local town that evening.

The annual festival was underway, giving the Pillsbury clan a reason to get together. They'd be cooking out in the last of the warmer weekends of the season — followed by a bonfire while fireworks would burst overhead.

Annie, Kevin, their spouses and children arrived after four, and all the kids were occupied within seconds of arriving, finding something to do with one another. Will and Emma were given a break from their son, as well, as Kevin's wife insisted on spending some quality time with her nephew whom she was just meeting.

"Oh, he's his Daddy's boy," Leah cooed, tickling Luke under his chin and snuggling him close. Will kept an arm locked around his wife's waist, stroking her hip lightly.

Lily burst into the house from the sliding door, earning both her parents' gazes as she ran up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door which she'd been sleeping in for the past several nights. Emma made a move to follow her, but Will silently insisted he had the situation under control.

He found his daughter sitting on the edge of her bed, breathing deeply, clearly trying to keep her emotions under control. "What's up, baby?" Will asked cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"No," Lily said, shaking her head and drawing her knees to her chest. "Daddy, Natalie said something that I didn't like."

"What was that?" Will questioned, turning Lily so she was facing him. She didn't answer right away. But when she did, her dark brown eyes bore into Will in such a way that he knew he'd not be able to lie if he needed to.

"She said Mommy's having a baby. But she already had Luke."

Will's breath caught in his throat and he coughed into his hand, standing and pressing a quick kiss to Lily's temple. "Hang on, sweetie," He instructed, throwing the door open and calling his wife from the balcony.

She was up the stairs in a hurry, meeting Lily's eyes. "Natalie said you're having a baby, Mommy," She said firmly as Emma leaned back against the closed door.

Emma's eyes widened even larger than usual as she met Will's expression. "Why did she say that?"

"I said that I wasn't the baby anymore, when Kyle told me that I couldn't play soccer 'cause I'm the littlest. I told him Luke was the littlest, and he was the baby. Natalie said, 'Not for long! Not when the new baby comes!' I asked her why she said that. She said that you were going to give us another baby."

Emma felt a surge of rage towards her sister — how dare Annie share her personal life with her children? Will met his wife's concerned eyes, not knowing how they should go about confirming the news to their daughter.

The older Schuester lady took a deep breath before kneeling on the floor in front of Lily, holding the girl's knees in a comforting gesture. "Natalie had no business saying that, Lily. Babies shouldn't be talked about among kids, understand?" She bit her lip before confessing, "But she was right, honey. I am having another baby." Unsure if she should admit that it was accidental, Emma rubbed her girl's side, carefully wording her sentences. "Daddy and I didn't mean for this to happen. We already have baby Luke, and it's going to be very hard to have another baby. But we don't have a choice. The baby is coming."

Lily didn't speak as a lone tear trickled down her cheek, her eyes cast to the carpet. Will pulled an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her messy hair. "Even though we didn't plan this, it's going to be okay. We're all going to have to work together to make it work, but I think that once Mrs. Klark and Mrs. Riley have helped us get you feeling better, we'll all be ready to take care of a new baby."

Emma stared at her daughter, waiting for some sort of response. Finally, Lily asked, "Where is the baby going to live?"

"In our house, of course," Emma replied, wiping a second tear that had dribbled down Lily's face away. "And when the baby is born, it will sleep in my room. After a few months, we'll probably put the baby with Luke in his room. But we don't really know yet."

Satisfied with the answer, the preschooler's shoulder's heaved. "I'm ready to go back outside and play."

"Alright, then," Emma nodded. "But please, if you have any more questions, or if you become upset at all, please, please come talk to Daddy and I. We'll answer you as best we can. Okay, Lil?" She shook her head and Emma leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Want Daddy to push you on the swings?"

Lily agreed by taking Will's hand and tugging it towards the door, leaving Emma to find her sister for a well earned verbal smattering.

"What is wrong with you?" Emma roared upon spotting her sister in the kitchen with their mother. Annie twisted her body, an eyebrow cocked as she had no idea what her younger sibling was going on about. Linda took a careful step in front of her eldest daughter, fearing Emma was ready to burst into flames of anger and attack Annie.

"What are you talking about, dear?" Linda asked cooly, her arms crossing over her chest.

"Oh, she knows damn well what I'm talking about!"

Annie cringed, taking a stride towards Emma. "No, Em, I really don't."

"You told your kids that I'm pregnant! And Natalie told Lily!"

"No, no I didn't!" Annie shouted, her face screwed in anger. "Why would I tell my kids?"

"You tell me!" Emma was shrieking in anger, despite Linda's attempts at rubbing her back, which she shrugged off. "You said you wouldn't tell anybody, Annie! I trusted you, again, and you...you..." Tears trailed down Emma's face, she didn't have the energy to continue the argument. "How could you?"

Linda managed to direct her daughter onto a stool, standing behind her and keeping a firm, calming grip on her shoulders. "Annie, explain this, please?"

"Mom...Em...I, I told Sam, last night. It was late, we were in our room, alone, with the door closed. Nat must have somehow overheard it...I'm so sorry, sis...I only told Sam because we were going to offer the furniture we still had from the kids — we never got rid of the high chair, and we kept the matching cribs from when the twins were born...I asked him if he could pull them out of storage so that I could give them to you, so you wouldn't have to worry about buying extra. I have no clue how she overheard us, and I'm so, so sorry, Emma. I can't...I can't express it, I—"

Screams from the group of children outside interrupted the argument, causing all three Pillsbury women to spring into mother-mode, sprinting to the door wall, only to see their kids being chased by Ed and Richard wearing halloween masks, having scared the daylights out of the grandkids, but pleasantly so as they were retaliating with full force. Emma moped the tears off her face as she caught sight of Will bent over laughing, and Lily screeching in giggles while attacking his father.

"You know what?" Emma sighed, turning to Leah who'd been sitting awkwardly at the kitchen table holding Luke throughout the interrogation, and took her son onto her hip before painting a smile on her face. "Forget I said anything, Annie. I don't...It doesn't matter. I want to enjoy tonight with my family."

And enjoy it they did.

Several hours later found Lily sound asleep with her head on Will's shoulder, and Emma clutching Luke in a cradle hold. The fireworks had ended forty-some minutes previous, after the family had returned to the Pillsbury estate from an evening of the local festival in the downtown area. The adults were sitting around a fire pit on the furthest end of the property, where several children were passed out on laps, others fighting sleep while roasting marshmallows.

Emma turned to face her husband with a radiant smile in the light of the fire, blinking slowly. "Are you ready to go home tomorrow? Or do you want to stay another few days?"

"I'm ready." Will nodded, speaking quietly to keep his daughter asleep. "We've got to get back to the routine, into the swing of things. We need to get Lily better and prepare for another baby. I've realized, that I can't sit back and wallow in this...We've got to move on."

Emma squeezed his hand after working it out from under Luke, leaning forward for a kiss. In the morning, they'd pack up, they'd travel ten hours home. They'd put their babies to bed, and their sorrow and anxiety along with them.


	6. Chapter 6

_You'll always be a part of me,  
>I'm a part of you indefinitely<br>Boy don't you know you can't escape me  
>Oh darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby<em>

Emma observed as Lily's tearful departure turned into curiosity as a group of boys were pulling nylon fairy and bug wings out of a bin in the corner of her preschool room, several of them already sporting a magnitude of costume pieces. Lily ignored her teacher's attempts at persuading her into an activity and sprinted near the preassembled group, observing with mystified eyes as a dark skinned boy handed her a pair of lilac-hued butterfly wings. She tugged them onto her shoulders, giggling as her newfound companion chased her into a little asian girl, who was sitting in the middle of a circular carpet on her own, knees drawn to her chest. The boy shook the girl's shoulders, shouting at her. "RIANNE TIME'A PLAY."

The girl, presumably Rianne, looked prepared to cry, attempting to cover her face with stringy, chin length hair.

"Kyler," Mrs. Klark sighed, stepping into the situation. "I don't think Rianne wants to play right now. How do you think I know this by looking at her?"

Kyler stopped, his mouth open as he stared at the girl. "Her look sad."

"Yes, she looks sad. I believe Lily was playing quite nicely with you, though. Perhaps the two of you could find another space to play in, since Rianne was here first." Kyler shrugged and tugged Lily's tiny wrist, making the girl's eyes widen. The teacher took over once again. "Kyler, it hurts other people when you pull on them. If you want Lily's attention, you can ask her for it."

"Lily, come on!" The hyperactive four-year-old shrieked, awkwardly galloping to the other end of the room, leaving Lily to decide between playing with Kyler and trying to interact with the girl before her.

"Lily, maybe you can ask Rianne if she'd like to join you and Kyler. Maybe she'd like to be invited nicely." Mrs. Klark offered, standing back and letting the children take over the situation.

Emma could nearly see the struggle Lily faced in overcoming her shyness, but was pleased to see her sit next to the black-haired girl. In a small voice, she asked the girl, "Want to play butterflies with me?"

Rianne dared look between the messy strands in front of her eyes, trying to read Lily's expression before folding back into herself. "You don't have to if you don't want to," Lily shrugged and stood, running with a high pitched squeal of excitement back to the group of boys she'd started interacting with.

Emma found a smile tugging at her lips as Luke gurgled on her hip, nuzzling his face sweetly into her shoulder. "Are you ready to go home, my sweet boy?" She cooed at him, kissing the top of his head. He made squeaky noises in reply, his bright green eyes sparkling. "Let's get going then."

She entered the hallway, discovering Sarah having waited for her near the office, smiling with hope. "That was fast!" The blonde remarked and Emma shrugged contentedly.

"A few tears when I made her go in, but she found a dress up trunk with fairy wings and started to play with a few of the boys. She was laughing when I left. Now I'm going to get this little boy home and we're going to spend the morning making sure we've got enough winter clothes for both kids! And I've got to figure out what else I'm going to need double of when we have baby number three come March. My sister gave us her high chair and one of their cribs, so we shouldn't need too much more."

"Right, you'll only need one changing table, and Luke will probably be too big for the walker and swing by the time the new baby will arrive. If you need anything, check with me first, though. We've still got a ton of stuff from Scottie and Nick. But I'm going to help in Nick's classroom. They're going on a field trip to the local theater, and I figured what else have I got to do?"

The women parted ways and Emma drove home, finishing up a load of laundry from the weekend before joining Luke on the floor, entertaining him for awhile.

She helped him sit up and roll over, guiding his hands to stack blocks, and encouraging him to explore toys on his own, setting several out at a time, interested in what he'd chose. Most ended up in his mouth as he laughed and smiled away.

"You've got to be the happiest boy in the world," Emma stated proudly, pulling Luke into her lap and kissing his cheeks before pulling back to take a good look at him. His face was round, taking on a shape much like hers, but his eyes were certainly his fathers — and his hair was a light brown, with only a tint of red, curling around his ears and spilling down his neck. "And you look so much like your Daddy. I hope you're outgoing like him, too. I think you will be." She kissed him again as he babbled a bit, reaching his hands toward her face. She caught his fingers and kissed them before standing. "How about we sort through clothes downstairs, hm?"

Emma set her son up in a bouncy seat, ensuring he had plenty of toys on the tray to entertain him as she pulled bins off storage shelves, the ones that had never been properly reorganized after Lily tore them apart weeks previous in a fit of anger. She sighed as she worked through sizes of pants and sweaters, jumpers and onsies, knit leggings and wool socks, making a few lists of things they'd need to purchase before the weather turned much cooler.

"I think I'll have to find some more long sleeves for you, mister!" She commented to Luke, who met her gaze as she spoke. "While I'm all about breaking down gender stereotypes, I think that all these pink ones from your sissy will just clash horribly with your hair and skin tone. I don't think Daddy will go for it...and you're too porky for these tiny sizes anyway."

"Ah-Da, AH!" Luke squealed, smashing his hand against the tray, laughing as he earned Emma's attention.

Emma giggled, tucking a pair of Lily's jeans back into a box and reaching forward for her son, lifting him from the seat and cuddling him close. "How about I give you a bottle and you can take a little nap for me, hm? Then when we get Lily, we can run to the store for a few new clothes. Does that sound like a plan to you?"

"Eah-ah!" He cooed back, resting his head against her shoulder. Emma turned off the basement light and ascended the stairs, rubbing the baby's back and expertly making up a bottle with one hand as the other held him against her side. He reached for it eagerly, clearly hungry.

"Hold on, hold on..." They moved into his bedroom, where Emma plopped into the gliding chair, moving the boy into a cradle hold, popping the bottle into his mouth. "There we go..." He drank greedily. "Goodness, you could have let me know you were starving! You really need to start eating food...that'll help you stay full longer." He chugged the beverage and fussed a bit, needing to be cuddled and burped before his eyelids began to droop and Emma hummed gently, rocking back and forth until he was sleeping soundly against her shoulder. She laid him in his crib, stroking his curls for a few moments before shutting off the light and stepping across the hall to his sisters' room, placing her hands on her hips as she decided what needed to be taken care of.

With a great sigh, she worked through the neatly organized bins against the wall nearest the door, sorting through toys that were no longer developmentally appropriate for the four-year-old to be playing with, taking out primary sorting objects, peek-a-boo blocks, and small, stuffed rattle toys. She rifled through drawers, locating sizes that were too small, and added a few shirts and skirts to Lily's dress up trunk, not wanting to see the selections end up being worn to school.

Taking the old toys to a cloth-lined wicker basket in the living room, which was full of toys Luke used most often during tummy-time, and then storing the small clothes in the basement, Emma deemed her work done for the morning, and settled down into a book before receiving a hurried call from Will.

"Hey," She smiled into the phone. "How's your morning?"

"Pretty good," He replied quietly. "I'm taking a quick break during study hall...I was just wondering how Lily did?"

"She was a bit teary, but once she got into the classroom, she was playing dress up with one of the little boys. She was laughing and happy. I hope she's still that way when I pick her up."

"Great," Will said sincerely. "I hope so, too. Would you mind if I stayed after to try and get a feel of where the kids who auditioned for Glee stand? See if anyone's still even interested?"

"Only if you don't mind that I need to go shopping for new winter clothes for both kids and a few new toys for Lily. I'm trying to get all the baby and toddler things out of her room." Emma cringed, knowing their cash flow wasn't exactly rapid.

"Well, if I stay for Glee, we'll have the extra money, so it sounds like a deal."

Emma laughed. "I think so. So we'll see you...by five?"

"Probably even before. Text me with how the rest of Lily's day was, alright?"

"Sure," Emma nodded, standing and stretching. "I'll have dinner ready for whenever you're home. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. See you tonight."

They hung up and Emma tugged on her shoes and packed a diaper bag for an extended afternoon at various shops, then gathered a still-sleeping Luke into his car seat before venturing back to the school for Lily's pick-up time.

The four-year-old sprinted into a hug against Emma's legs, when she stepped into the hallway of the preschool wing, where Lily was waiting with her small backpack already on. The mother bent down to place Luke's seat on the floor, hoping the commotion wouldn't wake him, and lifted Lily into a heavy embrace. "How was your day, baby girl?"

Lily was quiet, hiding her face against Emma's neck, who was starting to assume the day had taken a serious nosedive once she'd left. But Mrs. Klark approached her, with a wide grin, assuring her it hadn't. "Lily was wonderful today. She participated in all of our activities, except for using scissors, and she didn't want to do playdough at center time, but other than that she was a real trooper. Only one small meltdown when she colored outside the lines, but we ended it quickly and actually convinced her to keep trying instead of giving up on it."

"That's great! Lily, I'm so proud of you!" Emma cheered, kissing her cheek. "You did such a good job today!" She addressed the teacher once more, "Did she eat a snack?"

"Yes, she had a few graham crackers and water. She wasn't terribly hungry, but how much the kids eat is _always_ a choice around here."

"Well, I'm so glad to hear it. Are you ready to get going, Lil?" She nodded against Emma's skin and the Schuester's set off into the afternoon. "Okay, we're going to go shopping for a little bit before we go home. You and Luke both need some new winter clothes, and I want to pick up a few new toys. I took out some of the more baby toys from your room and put them with Luke's things, since you don't need them anymore."

"You gave my toys to Luke?" Lily muttered, eyes downcast as Emma buckled her seatbelt.

The mother pressed her daughter's knees, forcing Lily to meet her gaze. "Only toys that were made for babies to play with. Nothing else, I promise. Luke can use them, since he's a baby, and you're not. We're going to get a couple of new things today. How about we get some puzzles? You like to do puzzles."

"Yeah, I like puzzles," The preschooler agreed and Emma kissed her forehead and closed the door, moving to the other side to ensure Luke's seat was secure before taking off.

They arrived at a department store, and Emma was pleased to see Lily's mood lighten and Luke still fast asleep in his carrier. She held him in the crook of her arm, and took Lily's hand firmly with the other, and the three entered a small shopping center in downtown Lima.

"Mommy, can we get Lukie a Halloween costume?" Lily pleaded as they passed a display.

Emma smirked, pleased to see the big sister interested in her younger brother. "Sure, we can. Would you like to pick?"

The girl jumped up and down in excitement as the three family members moved down the isle to a group of infant-sized costumes. "He should be this!" She laughed, holding up a fleecy-sheep outfit.

Emma pressed her lips together, an idea forming. "What if you were Bo Peep, and he was your lost sheep?"

Lily's big brown eyes widened and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I love that story! Lukie can be my sheep!" Luke stirred with the excited commotion in his carrier, inside the shopping cart. Lily excitedly stood on the edge and showed him the white, fluffy costume. "Do you like it? You'll wear this and I'll wear a Bo Peep dress and we'll get candy!"

The baby smiled at the attention and reached his hands out to take a sleeve of the outfit, shaking the fist he created excitedly. "Ah!"

"Mommy, I think he likes it!"

Emma lifted her daughter into a hug and kissed her cheek. "I think he does, too. That was a good choice. Now lets see if we can find one for you..." The three traveled around the area until Lily found a blue, ruffled dress with a bonnet. "And now we get Lukie some warm stuff for the winter!" She assisted Emma in selecting matching tops and bottoms, onsies and sweaters for the baby. Emma laughed when she lifted up a small sweater vest. Lily nodded enthusiastically. "If Luke wears that, he'll match Daddy!" They maneuvered around until they came across items for Lily, including leggings, sweater dresses and sweatshirts to play outdoors in. Finally, they found several interesting, age-appropriate puzzles for Lily to try along with several new books that she claimed were, "Perfect for bedtime! Luke can listen, too!" She assisted placing items on the counter at the checkout lane, and even engaged in conversation with the cashier. Emma stood back, proud of her daughter's behavior, and silently praying it would remain that way for the remainder of the day.

Once home, Luke sat happily in a swing while Lily helped Emma in the kitchen, making a light lunch and preparing several items for dinner and snacks later in the week. "Mommy? When is your baby coming out?" The preschooler asked, seemingly out of the blue as she rolled cookie dough into an even ball and placed it delicately in a row on the cookie sheet.

Emma smiled, trying to keep the topic light as she also rolled a perfect sphere. "Well, honey, the new baby will coming sometime in March. That is after Christmas, when all the snow is melting and right before leaves come back on the trees."

"Oh. So, the baby doesn't get to have Christmas presents? That's sad." Lily shrugged while staring into space for a moment.

Emma raised a brow. "Well, you could get the baby presents anyway, if you'd like to. The baby just won't have them until it's born."

"That sounds like a good idea!" She grinned and rolled the last bit of cookie dough, exclaiming, "All done! Mommy, is the baby going to be a boy? Like Luke?"

"I don't know yet, Lily. But as soon as we do know, we can tell you." Emma placed the tray in the oven and turned back to face Lily, kissing her cheek. "Thank you for all your help. Now let's eat our sandwiches!" The two ate, the younger discussing her day at preschool, where she cried when she colored out of the lines, but still kept trying. "That's what school is all about, honey. Learning. Sometimes you don't get things right on the first try. You just have to keep trying over and over until you get it! And since you just finished your PB&J, go put a sticker on your chart!"

The four-year-old hopped down, her feet clomping on the tile as she excitedly placed a Rachel Berry-brand gold star on the construction paper hanging on the refrigerator. The mother and daughter spent the remainder of their afternoon between attempting puzzles and entertaining Luke. When the door opened at quarter till five, everyone was in a good mood.

* * *

><p>Will turned to the group of misfits before him, finding himself in a position not unfamiliar — he only had seven students interested in Glee. He'd need another five before he could even think about qualifying for any sort of competition. "Wasn't there a larger group of you guys last year?"<p>

A petite, dark skinned girl shrugged. "There was about ten of us. We didn't compete. We just did a couple'a shows around town. And we were apart of the spring music festival. The other three graduated. Now, it's just us. Are we going to compete this year, Mr. Sche? It's like...a dream."

He smiled at the group before them — all awkward, gangly. Not popular, but certainly not rejected by their peers...yet. "We'll need at least five more kids before we can even think about going to sectionals. They're not until the beginning of December. That means we have two months to be ready. First thing's first, though...we need recruits. Now, I know that performing in front of an assembly of your peers isn't number one on your list. I learned in the past that you guys might not be...up for that sort of thing. But, if I let you pick the music and costumes, within reason, do you think you could do it?"

Five girls giggled and nodded, chatting amongst each other with ideas, while the boys seemed less interested. The shorter and stockier of the two raised a hand and quietly asked, "Do you think we can score chicks if we tell them we're sort of in a band?"

Will laughed, throwing his head back. "It's worth a shot, Teddy. And who knows? Maybe with a powerful baritone solo at say...a school wide assembly, girls would be able to see just how talented you are."

"Mr. Schue, how do you feel about crop tops?" He cringed and moved towards the girl's group and allowed the meeting to go on, bouncing ideas off of the students and seeming to come up with a conclusion by the time the meeting ended.

When he arrived home, Lily attacked him in a hug, climbing up his leg until he lifted her high in the air. "I'm glad to come home to see you in such a good mood, Lily! Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah! I'm Bo Peep, and I only colored outside the lines a little and we did puzzles!"

"Sounds like you had a fun day," Will laughed and kissed her cheek, toeing off his shoes and moving to the living room where Emma was on the floor with Luke, grinning widely in greeting to her husband. He joined them on the floor, with Lily in his lap, and pulled his wife's face toward his own for a kiss. She smiled into it and Luke babbled up at them.

Will felt tears and a lump in the back of his throat as he took in the scene. This was what he wanted. This was the family dynamic he'd been missing.

* * *

><p>"...<em>She turned out the light, and closed the door — and that's all there is, there isn't any more<em>." Will read softly to Lily who yawned in his lap, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I liked that story, Daddy. The little girl had red hair just like me!" Will nodded and ran a hand through her smooth curls which had just been combed. "I think Luke didn't like it, though. He fell asleep!"

Emma smiled from her seat next to the two on the sofa, "He's just sleepy, honey. I'm sure he'll appreciate it when he's your age. Now let's get Lukie in bed, then we'll tuck you in too, alrighty?"

The family shuffled down the hall, where Luke was placed in his crib and given feather-light kisses as not to disturb him. Lily had her foot ready to step into her parent's room, but Emma stopped her. "You should sleep in your own bed tonight, Lily. It's—"

"No," She cried, her voice watery with the first signs of a tantrum that day. "Please, no. I want to sleep with you!"

Will picked her up, carrying her into the pink bedroom, where her lip trembled and body shook with distress. Will sat down on her toddler-sized bed and rubbed her back, whispering soothing things in attempt to keep a full-blown meltdown at bay. "You'll be asleep before you know it, Lily. I want you to fall asleep in here. If you have a bad dream, or get scared at night, then you can come see Mommy and I, okay? But you're four years old, it's time for you to sleep by yourself in your own room." He detached her from his hold and Emma pulled the blankets down, where Will placed the crying child. "It's okay, baby girl. We're just down the hall." He brushed tears away from her cheeks and sighed, kissing her temple. "It's alright. Want us to sing to you?"

She nodded, sniffing as her crying halted, and Emma held one of her hands with a smile. "What song do you want to hear?"

"The one that I'm always your baby."

Will broke into a grin and started do-boping with Emma, each pleased to see their daughter's meltdown end. The two sang Mariah Carey's hit until Lily's eyes dropped, where they kissed her and stroked her curls before turning out the light and shutting the door.

The couple moved to their own bedroom, where Will flopped onto the bed and pulled Emma with him, kissing her senselessly, letting his hands wander up her shirt. She responded eagerly, still on a high from the successful, stress-free day they'd shared as a family. When they finally pulled away from one another some time later, Emma placed her head in the crook of Will's neck, sighing peacefully.

"Today was a very good day," Will murmured. "How long do you think this happy spell will last?"

"Well, we can't control Lily's emotions, but I think if we do our best to remain positive, maybe this can be the new norm. Why should we expect ourselves to be miserable in reaction to our daughter's attitude? I really think we're going to start seeing improvements soon. We've got her IEP meeting on Friday...we're supposed to get some of the drafts of the paperwork tomorrow to look over and see if there's anything we think we should add or that we don't agree with."

Will nodded, having had sat in on a few meetings for special education students in his Spanish class, knowing how they were generally run. "Let's hope they're good to their word and have been really working on this." He turned the conversation as he shifted their positions, lifting Emma's shirt up and tracing the slight bump that was forming on her stomach. "Well, hello baby," He said softly, kissing the skin.

"I pray about every hour that this one will be easy-going and emotionally balanced. I don't know how we'd handle two kids with...you know...issues."

"I hope that, too. Because then it wouldn't just be the kids who have problems," He half-joked, sighing as he rubbed the bump some more. "I think that the prematurity caused a lot of Lily's problems."

Emma shrugged. "I don't know...I think that has something to do with it. Then there's her genetics, she unfortunately got my crazy...and as Mrs. Klark said, our parenting skills haven't been stellar with her...There's a lot that went into it. I think that we'll learn from our mistakes, and hopefully our parenting won't affect how stable Luke or number three turn out. Genetics are just luck of the draw, but hopefully I can carry this one to term. But even Luke was three and a half weeks early...and I hadn't done anything to affect that, like traveling. Who knows what's going to happen with this one."

Will flipped them over again, rubbing her back gently. "I love you, Em."

She picked her head up to peck his lips. "I love you, too."

* * *

><p>The following days and weeks were a blur of activity. The team evaluating Lily had set up discipline standards and methods, which needed to be strictly followed at school and home to create the consistency she needed when her actions were inappropriate. She was also given a daily session with Mrs. Klark in attempt to modify her OCD behaviors. Emma thought it was all a bit much for a four year old, but the professionals treating her case insisted it was best to start such regimens early.<p>

October was filled with football games, which the Schuester's excitedly attended, with Lily jumping around in the stands, having been given a pom-pom by Sue, which confused her parents, but delighted her. Glee club had gained an additional seven members after their successful pep-rally, which used a pop song which had been number one in the charts, with slightly scandalous, but not inappropriate costuming and dance moves — just enough to draw the attention of the crowd to see that it wasn't just a stool choir. Luke had begun sitting up and rolling over, gaining new skills which amused his big sister and earned a look of pride from his parents. Will had an occasional breakdown, mourning the loss of his mother, but he was handling the grief in an appropriate way, not lashing out at his family members. His father was over often, enjoying dinner with the rest of the Schuester clan, or entertaining Luke while Emma and Will tended to Lily's discipline.

By the last week in the month, Lily's smile was present more often and her meltdowns were fewer than twice a day. She was eating her meals regularly and listening when spoken to. She still cried every morning when dropped off at school, but by the time she entered the classroom, she was happily playing with her classmates. Will enrolled her back into dance classes two nights a week, and she was enjoying them thoroughly.

The night before Halloween dawned and Lily sprinted into the door from her bitty hip-hop class, determined to show Emma what she'd learned. The mother shook her head as the four-year-old strutted around the room, feeling as if her baby was growing up too fast. The next day, Lily was allowed to wear her costume to school for a Halloween parade around the building, where each class's room moms were passing out candy, and she excitedly presented Emma with a bag full of sweets, which the mother cringed at, intending to sort through it and toss the majority of the sugary substances before Lily could notice they were gone.

"Do you want to go see Aunt Shannon? She wants to see you and Lukie all dressed up in your costumes."

"Yeah! And we can see Daddy, too!"

The three made their way to McKinley, with a stop in the office for Emma to have a brief word with Figgins about the possibility of returning to work the following school year. The principal was elated to see the children in his office, giving hugs to both kids and insisting one of the student workers take a picture for the yearbook.

The lunch bell rang and the family made their way to the teacher's lounge. Will was already sitting with Shannon and was excited to see Lily clomping towards them. "Hi Aunt Shannon! Daddy! Are you going to go get candy with me tonight?"

He pulled her into his lap and kissed her cheek, nodding. "Of course I am. Mommy will stay home with Lukie and Sarah, while Paul and I take you and Scott out."

"Where's Nicky going?"

"He's going with his cousins. It'll just be you and Scott getting all the candy."

"Wow! Aunt Shannon, are you goin' to get candy?"

The coach laughed as Emma placed Luke into her arms and she cuddled the boy covered in fleece. "No, I'm not going to go trick-or-treating. I've got to give candy out at my house, silly!"

The adults conversed and Will shared an over-stuffed lunch with Emma and Lily while Shannon bottle-fed Luke, who was still refusing to eat. They were enjoying their meal until a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Has Little Bo Peep lost her sheep?" Sue chided, taking the empty seat across from Will. The three who had already occupied the table rolled their eyes at the attempt at humor.

"No, he's over there," Lily said honestly, pointing to Luke, who was clapping his hands together as he stared across the table.

Sue smirked and nodded, "And there he is. How is preschool going, munchkin?" Emma opened her mouth to answer for her daughter, but Sue held up a hand. "Do you ever expect your child to gain communication skills if you're constantly speaking for her?" The redhead closed her lips and sent a nasty look in cheerleading coach's direction.

"School is good, mostly. I want Rianne to play with me, but she doesn't ever talk. I usually play butterflies with Kyler. He's a nice boy."

"So it's not too hard for you then, huh?" Sue's smirk remained as she held eye contact with Lily who shrugged.

"Sometimes it's hard. When I color and I mess up. And scissors are just too hard. I can't do it."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to get it if you keep trying, kiddo. You've got to practice! It's okay to make mistakes." Will and Shannon were full on glaring at Sue, desperate to figure out what her aim was. The blonde placed her hands on the edges of the table and rose, "Well, Lily, you have a wonderful Halloween. Be safe when you're out tonight, okay?"

"I will!"

With that, Sue spun out of the room, leaving the adults confused in her wake. Once she was back in her office, she pulled out her phone and made a call to the elementary school.

"James. Why is the Schuester girl still enrolled in your institution? Do you not want your pension restored?"

A sigh came over the receiver and the principal replied, "Sue, there wasn't any way I could have her thrown out with one incident, and now that she's in the Special Ed class, I can't expel her for any reason. It's federally regulated. She can go through disciplinary steps, but she's pretty much going through that now, anyway. The only way I could really have her removed is to put her back in a regular classroom, without her individual plan in place. And that's not my decision to make. This is out of my hands now, Sue."

"You can have her removed from the school for up to forty-five days and placed elsewhere," Sue retorted. "That might be enough to make a difference! I need you to set up a project for the preschool class that will stress her to her limits of having another freak out like she did in September. She's terrified of scissors now. Find away to exploit that."

"Sue! I can't exploit a child—"

"Then what did you think you were signing up for when you agreed to this? Get it done. I want her out of that school!" With that, Sue hung up and spun around in her chair, gripping her chin with her thumb and forefinger, mind reeling for a way to get Lily in serious trouble.

Later that night, when the moon was full and trick-or-treaters where slowing their ascent on Lima's neighborhoods, Will walked a sleepy Lily up the steps of the Schuester's driveway, where Luke was sleeping soundly in Emma's arms while she and Sarah were gathered in front of a portable bonfire.

"Hey, sweetie!" Emma called softly, passing her son to his father and letting Lily climb into her lap, resting her bonnet-covered head against Emma's shoulder. "Did you have fun?"

Lily nodded. "We got lots of candy. And Scottie and me went though a scary maze with Daddy in some guy's garage!"

"Oh, that sounds exciting. Are you all tired out?" The four-year-old nodded and let her eyes close, yawning heavily. Scott was having a similar reaction in Sarah's arms, having removed his big-bad-wolf ears and curled up in his mother's lap.

"Can we watch the Snoopy Pumpkin before bed?" Lily asked softly, trying to fight sleep. Emma agreed, rising, and directing Sarah into the house, where they got their kids set up in front of the TV after pulling warm, flannel pajamas on them. Expecting they'd be asleep within five minutes, the mothers felt confident leaving them alone while they conversed with their husbands outside.

Will was still standing in front of the fire, rocking back and forth while Luke snoozed, his head against Will's chest. Emma smiled brightly at the sight, greeting her husband with a peck to the cheek. Sarah flopped down in the seat next to Paul, who was scouring his son's candy bag for something to eat. "Are you really going to steal candy from our baby?" Sarah chided, slugging him and earning a laugh from the rest of the adults.

"He's no baby, and I'm hungry," The blonde joked, peeling back the wrapper of a miniature snickers. "And _you're not you when you're hungry_."

Sarah snorted and stuck her palm up at him. "Then you're never you, mister disposal. Now gimmie some chocolate!"

Emma glanced up at her own husband with expecting eyes, "Think we can make most of the candy disappear without Lily noticing? I don't want her eating all that."

"Sure. Whatever we get rid of, I'll just take to school and throw at kids when they get answers right," He said quietly, bouncing Luke lightly as he squirmed tiredly in his arms. "I'll get him changed and put down, alright?"

He moved inside, smirking at the sight of Lily and Scott sound asleep on the couch, and a familiar line of, "_I got a rock_," Playing over them. He gently tugged Luke's costume off of him, making the boy's eyes flutter awake and a single-toothed grin washed over him as he reached up towards his father.

"Hey, bud." Will smiled just as brightly back, working his floppy arms into a long-sleeved onsie. "Did you have fun with Mommy tonight? I'm sure everybody was telling you how sweet you were in your little outfit. Hm...you hungry?" The boy gave a throaty coo, and Will lifted him back into his arms and moved to the kitchen to take a bottle from the fridge, which Luke eagerly flailed for until Will helped position it in his mouth before heading back to the nursery to rock him in the gliding chair.

At some point, both Will and Luke had fallen asleep. Emma sighed in the doorway almost an hour after he'd headed inside, and gently shifted Luke out of his arms, resting him on his back in the crib. The absence of the small body in his arms caused Will to awaken and rise to follow his wife out of the room. Scott was gone and Lily was in her own bed, leaving just the two adults alone in the kitchen, where Emma had already sorted through Lily's candy haul, removing the chocolate and suckers, leaving just fruit snacks or smarties. "Poor kid. I usually had my candy gone by November third," Will joked, opening a package of Sweethearts.

"Do you want to deal with a sugar-high Lily?" Emma raised a brow and stole one of the blue sweets from his palm. "Besides, there's nothing worse than a melted, chocolatey mess. And gum or anything sticky would wind up all over her clothes or the floor...and suckers are a choking hazard. Your kids will appreciate them much more, I think."

"I'm sure they will," Will responded, sitting on a stool and eyeing the time. "I'm glad I don't have to see them tomorrow though," He laughed a little. "Giving them the day after Halloween off is probably one of the smartest decisions they'd made in awhile. You remember last year? Way too many hangovers to properly teach anything."

"It kind of seems like they're encouraging them to party though. I know they did it _mainly_ for the Future Freshman day — but still. That was usually later in the month. But what are we going to do with ourselves for the next three days, hm?"

"Well, I was thinking about spending some time with my Dad this weekend...Maybe go fishing or something...I wish Luke was bigger, so he could come with us."

Emma cleared her throat. "And why wouldn't you take Lily?"

Will laughed, shaking his head. "Can you see her handling worms, or fish, or being cold on the water, or getting wet, or putting a hook through a fish, or—"

"Okay, okay...No, I suppose it wouldn't really be something for her. In a year or two, though, I'm sure Luke would be a great little fishing buddy. Maybe he'll even have a little brother who wants to join him."

"Hm..." Will tapped his fingers against the counter. "I feel like that would be too easy. Too convenient for us. It's probably a girl." He sighed. "But who knows. Maybe she'll be the thing we need around here...to fix this all up...help us start over...or at least stay where we are. I like where we are."

"I like where we are, too," Emma responded, leaning her arms over the counter to intertwine her hands into his. "And you know, when we first found out...about the baby...you know, I was so upset. But...then I started to really think about it, and reflect on it...and I think you might just be right. Maybe a third child really is the saving grace we needed."

"Grace," He muttered, smiling and moving his lips to hers. "If it's a girl. Baby Grace Schuester."

Emma felt a lump rise in her throat. "Okay," She managed to mumble. "Baby Grace. And if we've got another little man, I like...Logan. Lily, Luke, and Logan."

Will nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly. "Logan or Grace. Heck, maybe we should try for a forth so we can have both—"

Emma laughed, throwing her head back and moving past him, patting his shoulder. "Not even in your dreams. Because that would be a nightmare."

* * *

><p>"I don't like snow!" Lily whined loudly as she and Emma trudged through the elementary school parking lot on a blistery late-November morning. The flakes whirled around them, sticking in Lily's curly locks. "Mommy, I want to go home!"<p>

Emma squeezed her hand and shifted Luke's weight on her hip awkwardly with the bulky winter clothes. "Sorry, honey. We're almost inside. Then you'll be nice and warm."

"No! I don't want to go to school!"

"Lily. We do this every morning." Emma sighed as she let go of her daughter's hand and opened the door, ushering her in. Lily's whines began to turn into cries as they made their way down the hall. At one point, she turned around, prepared to run when the mother noticed the action and scooped her up one-armed, dragging her kicking and flailing frame into the early childhood wing.

Mrs. Klark swiftly turned her attention to the family, taking Lily from Emma's side and placing her on the floor, using techniques they'd been working on to calm her down.

"Lily, you're at a four," She said sternly, holding up four fingers on one hand while the other was firm on the girl's shoulders. "I need you to take it down to two."

"No!" Lily shrieked, smacking the fingers in her face away. "No!" She threw herself to the ground, burying her face in coat-clad arms.

Emma sighed and bit her lip, shaking her head as she moved to the little girl's level, rubbing her back. "We had a _really_ rough night last night. Will didn't come home until late and she was done taking orders from me, I guess. She was just...fussy and uncooperative. She didn't get to put any stars on her behavior chart and then threw a _huge_ tantrum, wouldn't eat dinner...almost clocked Luke and she did bite Will pretty hard. She didn't sleep until far past midnight, and it ended up being in our room," Emma sighed again, feeling like a horrible parent. "We pretty much just gave in."

Lily threw herself to the floor, sobbing loudly and kicking her legs wildly. Mrs. Klark continued to observe her behavior with a raised brow. "I'm not quite sure what to make of this at the moment. I think she's just frustrated. Emma, why don't you take off, and we'll do our best with her today so hopefully your house will be peaceful tonight."

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, contemplating how things had gotten so out of order so quickly. She supposed it would always be like this with Lily — a series of shining, positive moments, followed by chaos and disaster. It was draining and she felt like a failure.

Saying a quick goodbye to her daughter, Emma sighed and straightened up, positioning Luke more comfortably on her hip. The two made their way toward the office, where the redheads unexpectedly bumped into Sue Sylvester on their way. "Oh...Sue? What are...what are you doing here?"

The coach was completely caught off guard, blinking and formulating the best retort she could possibly come up with. "Threatening the administration. What else would I be doing in an elementary school. Gotta go. I'm observing your husband's teaching today, so it should be a really fun day."

She turned on her heel and Emma glared, an uneasy feeling settling into the pit of her stomach at the idea of Sue giving Will an evaluation on his job performance. He was a stellar teacher, and while Emma knew it, she wasn't sure what the sinister woman's angle was.

Shaking her head, she moved into the room, pleased to see the school's psychologist chatting with a secretary. "Mrs. Schuester! Glad you're here!" Mrs. Riley waved her over. "How about a chat in my office?"

Emma nodded and followed her, pulling an adult-sized chair from the wall in front of the desk the other woman sat across from. "I can't believe how big he's gotten in just three months! Gosh, September seems like it was so long ago, just looking at him!"

The mother beamed and positioned the baby comfortably in her lap. "My big eight-month old! He's so much heavier than Lily was at this age, though. I'm going to have to start lifting weights if I want to keep up with how much he's growing!" Both women laughed and dove into the reason behind the visit. "So, we're having a bit of a relapse with Lily...and I'm really not sure what is causing it."

"Well, you do have to keep in mind that our methods for behavior modification aren't perfect," Mrs. Riley cleared her throat and shook her head. "And it is very normal to have moments, or days, or weeks, where she's just not going to respond to it. And that's okay. We can try alternative forms, or wait it out. She'll come out of it, I am sure. While that's stressful for you, it's stressful to Lily, too. She doesn't know why she's acting the way she is, and that's frustrating. I know you hate to hear it, but give her time. She'll come out of it."

The two talked for nearly twenty more minutes until Mrs. Riley's office phone rang, and a panicky assistant from the preschool room called, requesting the psychologist's assistance. Emma's heart sank and the two moved swiftly to the room, where Emma stood against the observation glass. Her eyes were glued to Lily, who wasn't the cause of the commotion. She was instead comforting the little dark-haired Rianne, who was sniffing while clutching her hand. "It's okay," She heard Lily say softly. "Kyler didn't mean it. He sometimes has to be bad. His brain tells him to. He didn't mean it." Meanwhile, Mrs. Riley and Mrs. Klark were attempting to restrain the thrashing, wildly out of control boy in a corner, while the parapro nursed a bloody nose on another little boy. Emma bit her lip, seeing blood trickling down Rianne's hand. Sighing, she turned around and opened the clearly labeled_ First Aid _kit on the wall and pulled out a sanitizing wipe, spray and a bandaid. She hoped neither of the adults in charge would mind her interference.

She stepped into the room without being noticed, until Lily caught sight of her with wide, brown eyes. She crouched at the girl's level and propped Luke up against a stack of pillows in the reading corner they were conveniently near. "Mommy? Rianne got hurt real bad. See? Her hand has blood on it!"

"I see, I see." She knew Rianne was painfully shy, she'd seen her lack of communication through the glass multiple times. "Rianne, honey, can I help you feel better?" The dark haired girl looked up through her bangs, her almond-shaped eyes trying to determine if the woman sitting in front of her was safe. "I just want to clean off the blood and put a bandaid on. You'll feel better."

Lily whispered something into her classmate's ear that Emma couldn't hear, and finally the preschooler stuck out her hand, keeping her eyes cast to the ground. "Thank you, that's very brave of you."

Emma wiped the blood that was trickling down the girl's arm, and carefully dabbed at the wound. "Okay, I'm going to spray it with this. It'll sting, but only for a second. Is that okay?" Rianne nodded. "Alright, I'll spray on three. One...two...three," With a small spray, Rianne's body shook, but she didn't holler. "Very good, sweetie. I'm just going to put a bandaid on you and you'll be all set." Covering the wound, Emma rubbed the little girl's hand gently. "All better, kiddo." She disposed of the bandaid rubble and put the bloody wipes in the hazardous waste container in the hallway, sanitizing her hands before heading back into the room to retrieve Luke. She was about to leave when Rianne suddenly clung to her leg, not making eye contact with her, but quivering fearfully. "It's okay, Rianne...It's okay," She crouched to her level and gently rubbed the girl's back. "Honey, Mrs. Riley an Mrs. Klark have Kyler under control. He can't hurt you now." Emma propped Luke back up against the pillows and sat down herself, pulling the shivering girl into her lap. She was sure it was breaking some protocol or regulation somewhere, but Emma could not abandon the hysterical child.

Lily scooted closer, resting her head against Emma's arm and holding Rianne's hand tightly as the chaos seemed to settle down around them. The rest of the students, who were being supervised by the same parapro nursing the bloody nose, were clearly relaxed as they settled in their seats on the circular group-time rug in the middle of the room. The bleeding boy himself was still crying, but he was starting to calm. Kyler was no longer screaming at the top of his lungs or kicking the teachers, and Mrs. Riley moved to the phone on the wall, calling the parents of the injured boy and Kyler's mother to come take him for the remainder of the day.

Emma breathed deeply and glanced at Luke, who was drifting off against the pillows. Lily was explaining what had sent Kyler off, but Emma was only half-listening as she observed the little girl in her lap. She'd been told the girl didn't speak, not that she couldn't — but that she wouldn't. The teachers couldn't tell her anything beyond that, but Emma was curious. Lily was becoming friendlier with the girl, and Emma wanted to know what she was getting herself into. She hoped the phone calls included one to Rianne's parents, because she was always already at school when Emma arrived with Lily, and took the bus for students with disabilities home, so Emma had yet to meet the mother of the painfully shy child.

Not five minutes later, Mrs. Riley was escorting Kyler to the office and the assistant led the boy with the nosebleed to the nurse, as it was still gushing at a fairly alarming rate. Mrs. Klark stepped away from the phone and took a deep breath before turning to the four students sitting on the carpet, offering each of them a hug and ensuring they were alright before telling them they could either play in the pretend area or at the block station.

Then she turned to Emma, with a half-smile, sitting next to her on the floor and opening her arms for Rianne, but the girl stayed where she was. "Sorry for just bursting in here, but I was with Mrs. Riley, and when she got called down, we assumed it was Lily from the way she was acting before...I was going to leave, but then I saw this one bleeding and you were all busy, so I just took it upon myself to help her. I'm sure that's illegal or something but...I couldn't just watch."

"No, no you're fine. Thank you, really, for your help. I didn't even see her get hurt at first, and she isn't going to tell me what happened, but—"

Lily interrupted. "Kyler hit her hand with the cookie-cutter first! Before he hit Mason's hurt her really bad and she started crying but you didn't see 'cause then Mason had blood on his nose and Kyler started screaming and kicking you."

"Oh, Rianne, I'm so sorry that happened to you," Mrs. Klark sympathized. "I bet it hurt really bad, and I'm sorry I didn't help you. But I am thankful that Mrs. Schuester came in to help you. Are you thankful she did that?"

Rianne nodded once, slowly, and leaned her face towards Emma's chest, closing her eyes. "Well, we called Noel. She is leaving work to come in and see you. She'll be here soon. But she can't take you home. She has to go back to work. You'll have to stay here until school is done. How about you and Lily go play pretend until she gets here?" Rianne didn't respond, but held onto Emma's shoulders. "Rianne, Mrs. Schuester needs to leave—"

"I can stay," Emma mouthed and Mrs. Riley rubbed her temples, trying to make the best decision for everyone.

"Alright, so long as you don't mind. I'm going to clean up the disaster, then."

After ensuring the remaining four were safe and getting along, the teacher turned to the explosion of a craft area, scrubbing blood off the table and picking up shredded paper. Moments after she'd finished, a shorter, tan skinned brunette walked into the room wearing a business suit, raising a brow at the sight of her daughter in the arms of another mother.

"Hello," She greeted Mrs. Klark and Emma as she gracefully sat on the floor. "Rianne? Sweetie, can you come see me?"

The four-year-old worked her way out of Emma's arms and crawled towards the woman Emma assumed was Noel, but curious as to the relation as the woman sitting before her was clearly not the girl's mother.

"Does your hand hurt, Ri?" She asked softly, kissing the bandaid and hugging Rianne close. "I'm sorry, I'm Noel Baker," She said quietly, extending a hand to Emma, who shook it. "I'm Rianne's mom...well, foster mom; you are...?"

"Emma Schuester," The redhead replied, lifting her sleeping son into her lap. "I just happened to be here when the chaos exploded, and saw Rianne needed some attention..."

"Well, thank you for that. Is this Lily?" Noel questioned, nodding to the curly haired girl who was still leaning against her mother.

"Yes, yes...She talks about Rianne all the time," Emma smiled, patting Lily's leg.

"I wish I could say Rianne did the same, for her," Noel said with a soft laugh. "Mrs. Klark told me that they play together a lot. It's really surprising for me. I honestly didn't think Rianne would make friends until she decided to start talking."

Rianne shot Lily a look out of the corner of her eye that didn't go unnoticed by Emma. Lily nodded at the girl and they both gave one another soft smiles before acting as if the silent conversation hadn't happened.

Lily stood up then, and whispered in Emma's ear. The mother smiled and nodded. "If she'd like to, Rianne is welcome to come over to our house after school to play."

"Wow, Rianne, what do you think of that? Would you like to go to Lily's house to play with her?"

The girl observed Emma for a moment, blinking a few times before climbing across Noel's lap to sit next to Lily, taking her hand.

"I'll take that as a yes," Noel smirked. The two mothers exchanged phone numbers and address information, then informed Mrs. Klark that Rianne wouldn't need to ride the bus. "But before I let you take her, I want you to know why she's in this classroom," Noel said softly after the two women said goodbye to their girls and exited the room. "Rianne's mother was a victim of domestic violence. Her mother was living with an abusive boyfriend who ran some sort of drug operation. Ri was born in the basement of their home and we're pretty sure she never left that basement, and although we have no proof, we're fairly sure that her mother wasn't allowed to leave once she had her...she was significantly undernourished and there's reason to believe she was being exploited and sexually abused by her uncle and others."

Noel sniffed, clearly having a difficult time telling the story of her foster child. "She and her mother were finally found in a raid on the house...The mother had been giving nearly all the available food to Rianne, and eventually was dead of starvation and trauma from repeated beatings. When Rianne was removed from the house, they put her on a high caloric diet, put her under sunlamps, and she bounced right on track. I've had her since she left the hospital. She has never spoken, although the doctors can't find anything physical to explain why...and she responds to English when we talk to her.

"She does occasionally have a major meltdown. She doesn't like to be touched by strangers. She'll warm up to you, and if she does, then she's fine. I could see when I walked in the room that she trusts you. You saved her from harm, and now you'll be one of the special people who she feels she can go to."

Emma's mouth was slack-jawed as she was told the story. "That's...that's terrible...my goodness. I can't believe she's had to go through all that and she's only four? That's...that's just horrible."

Noel sighed deeply and crossed her arms. "I know it...we are trying to adopt her, my husband and I, but we're in a fierce oversea's custody battle with the paternal grandparents...the whole situation is really a mess...but our goal is always to get Ri talking, and if we can end up keeping her, you know, we'll be ecstatic. My husband's mother usually watches her until I'm off work at two, and I honestly think it might kill her if Ri gets taken away. We're just doing the best we can with what we have, and hoping it's enough."

"I say that all the time," Emma nodded, bouncing her sleeping son lightly to relieve her arms as they walked to the parking lot and switched Rianne's car seat from Noel's vehicle to Emma's. "Lily has a confirmed case of OCD, and we're still trying to figure out what else there might be. I was in with Mrs. Klark before this whole madness happened, and she's leaning towards a Bi-Polar disorder...and it's just...so hard, because I've got Luke, and we're expecting another baby, and my husband's a teacher, and I really need to get back to work...and it never fails to amaze me what curveball I'm going to be thrown next."

"I hear that," Noel cringed as her phone rang. "Shoot, I've really got to get back to the office. I'll come over when I'm out and see how Ri's doing, if that works?"

"Yep," Emma nodded and smiled. "I'll see you then."

"Thank you so much...I mean it, I never pictured Rianne having fun and playing with other kids, at least not yet. This is...incredible. And I can't thank you enough for taking her, this is going to be so good for her."

The former counselor nodded. "I think it's going to be good for both of them."

* * *

><p>"Bi-Polar? As in...manic?" Will's voice rang concerned at the other end of Emma's phone.<p>

"I honestly don't know, there was a huge episode in the middle of our discussion, we had to go down to Lily's class, and no, it wasn't her fault, thank goodness. But, we'll talk more about it when you get home. She's got a little friend coming over for the afternoon, so this should be interesting."

"Oh? Which one, the little black boy?" He laughed, having seen Lily and Kyler playing multiple times when he had a chance to sneak out of McKinley and observe the preschool.

"No, Kyler was the one with the major meltdown today...don't think I'd want him over to our house after something like that. No, it's the quiet little asian girl...her name is Rianne. She doesn't talk, by choice...but after seeing a little interaction between the girls today...I'm not so sure about that. She's never said a word to an adult...but something tells me she talks to Lily. So I'm about to pull my best spy tactics today."

Will laughed. "Alright. Well, the bell's going to ring at any—" He was cut off by a piercing chime, "—and there it is. I'll see you after glee. I love you."

"Love you, too," Emma commented, turning to her son in the backseat. "Are you ready to get Lily?"

They were home quickly and both girls removed their coats and shoes before blasting down the hall to Lily's room, where they remained for the majority of the afternoon.

Emma did her best to stealthily observe the preschoolers, spending most of the time with Luke in his room, with both doors open, watching as the girls solved puzzles and put on Lily's various dress-up clothes. Most of this was done with Lily's narration, with Rianne looking up to smile widely on occasion.

"Mommy, can we color?" Lily begged as Emma stepped fully into the room as two o'clock drew close and Rianne's mother would be arriving.

"Sure, you can." She smiled, "Would you like to color, Rianne?" The girl nodded, a small grin falling on her face. She looked up through bangs that covered her eyes and Emma pressed her lips together. "Do you want me to get the hair out of your eyes, honey?"

Rianne glanced at Lily and the two seemed to share a silent conversation. "I think she will if you do mine, too! So she can see it doesn't hurt."

Emma directed the girls to the bathroom, lifting Lily to the counter and letting her chose a bow clip for Emma to pull her hair back in. Insisting it was harmless, the redhead jumped down from the counter and Rianne was lifted next, after ensuring it was okay to be picked up. She gingerly picked through the basket of hair accessories, finally content with a flowery headband. Emma finger-combed her thin locks back, and slid the plastic behind her ears, pushing all her hair above her forehead. "Well look at you! You're beautiful! I love being able to see your eyes!" Rianne beamed and turned to glimpse at herself in the mirror. She pointed to her eyes and looked up at Emma, grinning. "Yeah, now everyone can see what pretty, brown eyes you have."

Rianne giggled and motioned to the floor, and Emma helped her down, leading the girls to the kitchen, where she pulled out coloring pages and crayons for both the girls, giving them plenty of stickers and stamps to add to their pages if they wanted to. She brought Luke in from the living room and joined the girls at the island, where Lily chatted about anything she could think of.

"...And then, Mrs. Riley told Kyler that he could only be a butterfly if he came out of a cocoon! And you know what, Mommy? You know what Kyler did? He crouched down really small, and me and Trent got pillows and put them over Kyler, and then he broke it open, like a cocoon! It was so funny! Wasn't it funny, Ri?"

The little girl nodded and Emma could have swore she heard her whisper, "Yes," But perhaps it was just what she wanted to happen. She couldn't be sure.

A knock came to the front door and Emma rose to unlock it, revealing Noel, looking nervous. "How's it going?" She asked, stepping in and removing her shoes, which brought Emma relief she didn't even know she needed.

"Great! They've been playing just fine. Both ate all their lunch and we're coloring now. Come on in."

Noel grinned and followed the taller woman, entering the kitchen and raising a brow at Rianne. "How on earth did you get that hair away from her face? I tried for months to get her hair pulled back and every time only ended in tears!"

Emma shrugged. "I just asked if she wanted it out of her eyes. Lily said she'd go first, so Rianne could watch and then she picked out the headband and gave me a big smile when I put it on her."

"It looks so pretty! Oh, look at your pretty eyes! You look great, Ri!" She praised the girl, moving around behind her to press a kiss to her forehead. "And look at this pretty picture! Wow! It's so nicely done!"

The ladies sat around chatting and before either of them payed attention to the time, Will walked into the house, giving them all a jump. Rianne's face turned to panic at the sight of the strange man, but when Lily leaped from her seat to attack him in a hug, babbling about her day. Will lifted her into a monstrous embrace and laughed into her hair. "You're talking so fast, Lil! Settle down so I can understand you!"

She shrugged. "Daddy, look! Rianne and her Momma are here!"

"I see, I see," He nodded and positioned Lily on his left so he could extend a hand to Noel. "I'm Will, it's good to have you here. Lily's been talking about Rianne for a couple of weeks now. I was hoping we'd be able to have her over."

"Noel, and I'm so happy she's making friends! It's not an easy thing when she isn't talking, so I'm very grateful that Lily can see past that."

After a few additional minutes of conversation, Noel decided it was time to head home for dinner. This lead to a meltdown for both Rianne and Lily, who weren't ready to part ways yet. Both girls cried and Lily moved to hug her little friend, as if it would root her to the house.

"Sweetie, you'll see each other in the morning! It'll be okay!" Emma said sadly, thrilled that her daughter was having such a great time with another child. "You've got school tomorrow, so you'll see her again."

They finally left and the moment they were out the door, Will had to ask, "Did she talk?"

Emma shrugged. "I swear I heard her say the word 'yes,' but...if I did, it was so faint, so soft, she might as well not have said it at all. I don't know. It's really a strange thing. I am very curious to find the reason behind it. But Lily had a very, very fun day and she was so happy...I'm happy...she's happy, you're happy — how did Glee go?"

"Fantastic," Will said sincerely, pulling Emma close by the hips and kissing her firmly on the lips. "If you can, I'd really like you to come to a dress rehearsal tomorrow."

"I'll come, absolutely. And I'll pin the costumes for alteration after."

Will nodded and kissed her again. "You're amazing. I can't believe we compete in ten days...the kids are so excited, I'm excited...there is no doubt in my mind that we are going to take first. And then we'll trample Regionals and take Nationals...maybe that's dreaming a little big — but they all work so well together, and there isn't that...drama that was lingering with the last group I had. I mean, they're all doing well for themselves, but Rachel is the only one who's actually doing anything in the business, which we expected, but I'd really hoped more of them would have made it."

Emma shrugged. "It's not for everyone, you know that...but anyway, I completely lost track of time, would you like to go out for dinner?"

The family dined out and shared an enjoyable meal — even Lily ate without a fuss, discussing her day with Rianne and talking about all the fun things she couldn't wait to do with the girl. "Do you think Scottie would want to play with me and her?"

"Oh, I'm sure he would," Will nodded, although he really wasn't sure. "I bet that you could all be good friends, at least someday." He wasn't positive that Scott would understand how to befriend a girl who chose to be mute.

The night carried on, with baths and stories, songs and cuddles, and finally everyone was at peace, in bed, ready to really rest for the first time in weeks.

However, across town, Sue was anything but restful as she interrogated the principal of the elementary school with anger ablaze in her every action.

"The wrong kid had a meltdown, Sue! I can't control their emotions!"

"No, but you can twist them, and push them and fuel them! I should have seen this coming. If you want to destroy someone properly," She stood, slamming the man's desk at his home. "You've got to do it yourself. Good luck with the retirement fund, James. One word of this out to anyone, and I'll ensure you don't have a penny to bury yourself with."

The Glee club sectional was only ten days away. Will's daughter was about to be diagnosed with a life-long condition which would label her as completely crazy to society. His wife was barely functioning as it was with two children, let alone a third added to the mix. He would come crashing down, and Sue was going to see to that.


	7. Chapter 7

"...Those kids from McKinley...wow. Really, wow—"

"Jessica, step away from the door, please." Will said quietly, extending a hand to his lead singer who was crouched on the ground outside the judge's room at their location for sectionals.

"It actually sounded good!" She giggled, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Well, don't get too excited just yet. Go join the rest of the group in the green room, alright? I'll meet you there in ten minutes and we'll walk into the auditorium together."

She nodded and skipped off, leaving Will to shake his head in pride. They really did have the _wow_ factor on stage he'd been looking for. And as a familiar figure approached him, he suspected he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Congratulations," Sue smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You've outdone all the kings horses and all the kings men once again. Humpty Dumpty is back together and what an accomplishment to behold. You must be so proud."

"I am, thanks," Will said with just as wide a smile. "And to think we don't use performance enhancers to get our way to the top, unlike some teams at McKinley."

"What is it you're accusing me of?" Sue raged, her mouth twisting into something ugly. "Because it sounds like—"

The curly haired coach cut her off. "Unless you're going deaf in your old age, I'm sure you heard me the first time." With that, he brushed passed her and worked his way through small crowds of people, locating three familiar redheads in the lobby. Lily was slurping down a juicebox and Luke was throwing a mini-tantrum as Emma attempted to give him a sippy cup, as she had been in previous weeks. "Little man!" Will cooed, reaching for his son from his wife's arms. "Hey, no tears! Not today!" He gently requested, bouncing the upset boy on his hip. Luke hit him in the face and screamed loudly, throwing his head back. "No, no, come on, buddy." He took a seat and cuddled the disgruntled boy close to his chest. "It's okay, it's okay." He rubbed the boy's back until he calmed, sitting stiff in his arms. "That's better."

"He's not having this sippy cup business," Emma sighed, putting it back in the bag. "I'm not really sure we're supposed to use the same methods we would on Lily when it comes to feeding; and not give into the bottle, letting him go hungry. He's just a baby."

"I think we're supposed to give him a bottle, yeah," Will nodded, bouncing Luke on his leg, trying to return him to his usual state of total happiness. "Come on, pal."

Emma pressed her lips together and eyed her four-year-old, who appeared to be growing restless. "Lily, are you hungry?"

Lily shook her head, signs of tiredness creeping into her eyes and her cranky features. "No! I just want to go home. Can we leave?"

"Soon, princess," Will pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "We've got to see who won the competition, then we'll be free to leave."

With that he rose and pecked Emma's cheek. "They were amazing, Will." She smiled widely, taking his hand before he left. "You led them down the path which gave them the confidence and direction they needed to pull this off. If you don't win...blame the judges, because even though I am biased towards your team, anyone could see just how talented they were up there."

It was exactly what he needed to hear.

Fifteen minutes later, the group of McKinley students were gathered around Will as he randomly selected one of the boys to hold their first place trophy. The girls were squealing and giggling with excitement, and the males in the group weren't much calmer. "Alright, alright," He laughed, clapping a few kids on the back. "Excellent work. If I didn't know better than to do so, I'd take those routines all the way to Nationals...but we had enemies among us at this competition, and I'm not going to chance it. You were all exceptional out there today. I'm very proud of you, we deserved this win—"

Their attention was suddenly drawn to the judges table, where Sue Sylvester's voice was reigning over them, hissing threats of mass destruction for their obvious fumble in choosing Will's group as first prize winners. The director glared and shook his head, directing his successful team to pack up their things, that they'd celebrate on the bus. When they left the stage, he descended the stairs, only to find Emma had beat him to chastising Sue, with a sleeping Luke on her shoulder.

"Honestly Sue, what bug crawled up your butt?" Her eyes were narrow and free hand going wild as her voice shook at a level not usually used. Will had to stifle a laugh — he loved angry Emma...when the anger wasn't directed at him, anyway. "Those kids worked incredibly hard for their win! Will coached them to victory, again! Why does that bother you so much? Why can't you accept that you aren't the only person who deserves to win in this world? You've got some serious issues, Sue. I don't know what started this vendetta against my husband, but it has got to stop! I mean it!"

Sue laughed and smiled widely. "You really are as innocent as they come, Bambi—"

Will stepped in front of Emma, pointing a harsh finger at his nemesis. "_Don't_ insult my wife. Come on, Em, let's go." He grabbed her wrist and led them to the exit.

They made their way out the door and rallied the Glee kids, not realizing they'd forgotten one important factor in the auditorium.

Sue was shaking with rage when she noticed a sleeping Lily in the third row. Taking initiative to scare the daylights out of the couple she despised — without being arrested for full-fledged kidnapping, the tracksuit-clad woman smirked and gently crouched in front of the tiny redhead. "Lily," She said in the gentlest voice she could muster, one she used to use with her late sister. "Lily, wake up, kiddo."

The four-year-old grumbled and turned her face into the dusty seat, pushing Sue's hand out of the way as her mouth parted in slumber.

"It's time to go home," Sue tried convincing her. "Do you want me to carry you?"

Lily nodded and allowed her body to be lifted into Sue's hold, curling into her neck. She took the girl to the lobby, where she sat near the exit, taking a good look at the preschooler in her arms. Lily's hair was as luscious and curly as her failure of a father's with the sheen of her delusional mother. Her face was round, and with as much innocence in her features, it would never be guessed on first sight that the small child had a serious psychological disorder. With a sigh, Sue patted Lily's back. Parts of her were conflicted about doing anything which would put Lily in the way of her disruption of Will's life. She remembered what it was like for her sister, growing up with a disability. Lily's life wouldn't be much different.

Times and laws and education had changed, but attitudes toward mental illness certainly hadn't. The girl wouldn't be thrown into an institution, left to wallow in her own destructive madness. She wouldn't be subjected to experimentation, nor could she be denied a job based off her mental state. But she would be placed into a school full of students who would be a vigilant judge of her emotional disturbances. And that, Sue reasoned, was nearly as bad as the past reactions to individuals like Lily.

The four-year-old woke with a groan and pushed off of Sue's chest, blinking slowly as her eyes adjusted to the light. "Where's my Mommy?" She asked quietly, observing her surroundings and stretching an arm as far as it would reach.

"She'll be here, soon enough. They're getting the Glee kids all packed up. Do you know who I am?"

Lily nodded with a small smile. "You're Coach Sue. You gave me a pom-pom like the Cheerios! Not the cereal kind, the kind who dance at the games with the big boys!"

Sue found herself melting at the child's explanation. "That's right. Do you like to watch them?"

"Yeah! I wanna be a Cheerio when I'm a big girl! I go to dance class! I'm really good! And I really love it! And I like to do cheers with my pom-poms! Mommy helps me, and I say GO TITANS! Right, Coach Sue?"

"Yep, Go Titans..." She trailed off and found Lily searching around the room, squirming in Sue's lap.

"Um, where's my Mommy?"

At the sign of panic, Sue pulled the little girl closer, giving her a reassuring hug. "She's with the Glee kids. She'll be here soon."

"I-I..." Lily's hand reached for her hair as she visibly fought tears.

Compelled to help the girl, Sue gently wrapped a hand around Lily's small fist that had clumped a section of hair. "Okay, okay. Listen, squirt, your Mommy is going to come for you. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Lily's eyes snapped shut and tears leaked from them as her lips screwed themselves together. "I want to g-go home. My tummy hurts!"

Her other hand reached for her hair, but again, Sue prevented her from pulling the locks by taking both the tiny hands into hers, and rubbing Lily's back. "Don't pull your hair, Lily. Why does your tummy hurt?"

"Cause! Cause it does! It really hurts!" Seeing the girl's face pale, Sue stood and moved swiftly to the closest restroom, taking the preschooler into a stall, where she made it just in time for her to empty her stomach's contents. Sue held her hair back, having taken care of her sick sister enough times in her life. She gently rubbed Lily's back as the girl continued heaving into the toilet. She whispered calm, soothing statements into the preschooler's ear.

Meanwhile, Will and Emma were frantic in attempting to find their daughter. They'd split up, having left Jessica in charge of Luke, threatening her within an inch of her life to keep him where he was.

In tears, Emma questioned a doorman if he'd seen the little redheaded girl, and the man nodded, stating, "A blonde woman in a red suit took her into the bathroom—"

Emma's eyes grew wide with panic at the horrific situations which Sue could place her child in and she burst full speed into the rest area, flinging the door open and shouting her daughter's name as she entered the tile room.

"She's in here," Sue responded, pulling the door open all the way, revealing a hysterical Emma, who's hand was clutched to her heart.

"What. Did you. Do." She hissed, in a tone Emma never predicted herself using.

"Nothing, I found her in the auditorium and brought her out to wait for you, and we were talking about her dance classes and she just...lost it. She started pulling her hair and said her stomach hurt. You might want to call Will and let him know you've found her," Sue suggested, taking the situation seriously now that the emotionally disturbed girl was showing the true signs of her disability.

Emma nodded and reached for the phone in the pocket of her maternity jeans, calling Will and assuring him that Lily was safe, just having a meltdown. After hanging up, she turned back to the scene before her, where it appeared Lily was done vomiting.

"Honey, baby girl..." Emma whimpered, kneeling in the cramped stall and gently reaching for her daughter, who collapsed backwards into Sue, barely eyeing her mother as her meltdown reached it's ending point. A few stray tears dribbled down her cheeks and she closed her eyes. "Lily, Mommy's here," Emma said softly, suddenly aware that she was sitting on a filthy bathroom floor. "Come on, sweetie, let's get out of here. We can go home, okay?"

Sue cautiously reached a hand out and rubbed Lily's arm, inviting the girl to turn into her and sniffle a few cries into her shoulder. "You're alright, Lily," She said gently, eyeing the Schuester woman next to her, who was full-on glaring at her.

"She's fine, Emma," Sue spoke in the same tone, leaving Emma surprised at the use of her first name, and the soft hand that was placed around her as well. "You both are. Let's get out of the bathroom."

They stopped at the sink, where Emma wet a paper towel to rub around Lily's mouth and all three ladies washed their hands before reentering the lobby, where Will was pacing furiously. When he spotted Sue with his daughter, he moved forward, visibly prepared to strike the cheer coach.

"What the hell are you doing with my kid? I'm pressing charges, I—"

"Calm down, William," The blonde shook her head. "She's fine."

Emma was clearly shaken up by the entire fiasco, and Will pulled her close to him while attempting to lower his blood pressure. "What the hell happened?"

"Sue brought her out of the auditorium, and they were waiting for us when Lily just...had a meltdown. She got sick. Sue helped her through it all."

Will blinked, attempting to comprehend the situation as his breathing returned to normal.

"You came here," His voice was low as he stared the blonde down, "In attempt to destroy my team, and my authority as a coach, mock my wife...why the hell would you want to help my daughter?"

"A question I am still asking myself," Sue replied, taking a few steps back and fourth as Lily shook in her arms. "The better question is, why did you allow yourself to get so worked up that you _forgot_ about your daughter?" Will was prepared to interrupt, but Sue shook her head. "I don't presume to tell anyone how to be a parent, Will. I never was one, never will be one. But I do have experience in raising someone who had special needs." The curly haired man looked down, recalling all to well the one time he saw Sue's human side. "And I know you're stressed out. You've got a million and a half things on your plate, and I probably take up about a million of them. But," She warned, rubbing Lily's back. "She has got to come _first_. Not your marital problems. Not your classes. And certainly not your _Glee Club._ Lily has to be your number one priority. And if she's not," Sue shook her head. "Shame on you."

They were all silent for a moment until Lily muttered something against Sue's neck.

"What was that, kiddo?" Sue asked kindly, tilting her head to hear.

"I want my blankie," Lily mumbled, eyeing her parents. "I want to go home."

"Okay, alright, we're going to go, honey." Emma cleared her throat and stepped in front of Will, opening her arms as Sue transferred the four-year-old to her mother. Emma pressed her lips together tightly before forcing herself to say, "Thank you, Sue. For...taking care of her when she needed it. I appreciate it."

The coach nodded at the taller redhead and bent her head down to Lily. "You try and have a good night, munchkin. Don't give your mom and dad too hard of a time, okay?"

"Okay," Lily said quietly, nodding into Emma's shoulder and attempting to make herself comfortable over her mother's ever-expanding baby bump.

Sue left the building, leaving Will to hiss. "I want a restraining order, forbidding her from getting within five hundred feet of my kids. And you. And for that matter, myself."

"No, Will, she's right," Emma sighed. "We messed up. And we've been messing up for four years. We don't know what we're doing, and this muddling along isn't going to last forever. We've got a third baby on the way and we're still struggling with the ones we have. We've got to figure out a way to re-prioritize. But for tonight...let's just be thankful Sue was there to help Lily when she needed it, and get ourselves home for a long family cuddle."

Ten minutes later, the entire team of students, four Schuester's, and one giant trophy were packed onto a bus. Will sat next to his wife, each of them with one of their sleeping children in their laps, neither knowing what to say after the afternoon they'd had.

* * *

><p>"Daddy, we don't have a chimney!" Lily declared, her eyes wide as she spun around from the TV, where a Christmas special was discussing St. Nicholas's methods of entering a home.<p>

"Well, Santa doesn't always use a chimney," Will responded, trying to think quickly of a suitable answer for the four-year-old, not wanting to spoil the magic of the holiday season. He bit his lip, hoping for a solution if she further probed him as he attempted to grade the final papers of the marking period before the last day of school before the holiday break.

"But, how does he get into our house? He can't open the door! He doesn't have a key!"

"Well, that's true but..." Will laughed to himself as he thought, "Santa has a list of everyone's garage codes, you know, the buttons we press on the side to get the door to go up and down? He just types in the number and walks right through the door."

"Oh," Lily shrugged, turning back to the television. "That's easy."

Will gave himself a congratulatory fist pump as he eyed his wife, who was laughing as silently as she could, trying not to snort or disturb the baby feeding against her chest. She was propped up against the pillows on the couch, her feet resting in his lap.

"I didn't see you contributing for a better response," He chuckled, reaching a threatening finger down to tickle her toes.

"Don't you dare," She hissed jokingly, her mouth turning downwards in a mock-frown. "I'll ensure Santa doesn't bring you any presents this year."

"Daddy's been naughty, he yelled at Coach Sue." Lily commented off-handedly, recalling the argument from the week before.

Emma burst out laughing again, this time receiving a grunt from Luke as he attempted to eat. Will narrowed his eyes at his wife, trying to disapprove of her outburst. "Oh, Daddy is a very naughty boy, Lily. More than you know."

"But I'm a naughty girl, too," The four-year-old said seriously. "I bet Santa's not bringing me anything this year."

"Oh, honey," Will sympathized, taking a serious turn in their discussion and setting his nearly-finished papers on the floor. "Come here, Lily."

She crawled into his lap, letting him snuggle her into a cradle hold, making the girl smile widely. "You're not a naughty girl. You've gotten so much better in just the past few months, and Mommy and I are so proud of you. You don't have to worry about Santa not bringing you any presents. I assure you, he will have plenty for you."

It was true. In attempt to rid Lily of her baby toys, Emma had gone a bit overboard in their holiday shopping, but they made up for it in the toys they recycled from her room and had already moved for the soon-to-be-two babies to share.

The next question Lily asked, the parents were wise enough to let her answer herself. "Does Santa really fly reindeer?"

"Well, what do you think, Lily?" Emma questioned as Luke's belly was finally full and he sat up, needing a good cuddle.

"I think he has a big red car. Like the kind of 'Mummer that Coach Sue drives. A big, red, 'Mummer that flies when he puts magic pixie dust on it."

"Well, there's your answer." Emma nodded, sitting up slightly. "Santa drives a big, red Hummer."

Will shook his head, smile plastered to his face as his son squirmed in his wife's arms, reaching towards him. Lily pouted at her brother. "I'm using Daddy's lap now, sorry, baby."

"I think there's room for two," Will said softly, repositioning the preschooler and letting Emma hand Luke over, so one child was on each of his legs. "How's that?" He asked Lily, who had her nose turned up in the opposite direction. "Aw, come on, baby girl. None of that."

"You were my Daddy first," She complained, jumping off and stomping down the hall, slamming her door shut on the way.

Emma shook her head and stood up, eyeing the time. "Could you get a bath started for him, while I deal with the little monster?"

"Of course," Will agreed, standing as well to press a kiss on her lips. "Good luck with the beast."

She stepped into Lily's room, where the little girl was sitting on top of her toy box, watching the snow swirl around outside. The picture wasn't so different five years previous, when Emma first discovered her pregnancy.

_Emma burst into tears. Will moved them to the window seat in their bedroom where held her shaking frame._

_He stared out the glass pane. It had started snowing lightly on his way home from work and it seemed to be falling in heaps. Will stroked her hair, her arms, her back as she continued to cry. "Emma..."_

_Another half hour had passed when her sobs began to fade and the tears stopped flowing. "W-Will? I...I..."_

_He sat up, swinging his legs out from under hers. "I'll be in the kitchen," He sighed, kissing her forehead._

_"Thank you," She whispered._

_As he left, she brought her knees to her chest and twisted her arms around them, taking her turn to stare at the falling flakes, feeling her life fall out of control with each one that stuck to the ground._

She didn't know how spot-on she'd been at the time, but just like the flakes that Lily's eyes were fixed on, their lives seemed to be falling apart around them.

"Hey, sweet girl."

Lily turned her face away sharply, not allowing Emma to read her expression. Her head fell between her knees and her arms wrapped around them protectively. Lily was a picture-perfect brochure for a child with mental illness.

"Baby girl, please don't get yourself so upset that you get sick. Last night was no fun, was it? You don't want that again, honey."

The more the dramatic up's and down's of Lily's moods turned, the more Emma wondered if Mrs. Riley was right. Was her daughter bi-polar?

"Come on, Lily. Jut talk to Mommy — for a few minutes. That's all I want. Then," She whispered the last part, "Maybe you can have a cookie before bed."

The bribe failed and Emma shook her head, reaching for Lily, but upon touching her, the girl let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Lily," Emma swallowed, "That's enough of this, baby."

Finally, she snapped her anger-painted red face up, glaring menacingly at her mother, with cloudy eyes that bore through Emma. "I'm not your baby! You have Luke and that baby!" She pointed roughly at the baby bump.

Attempting to keep her composure, Emma wanted nothing more than to relieve the room before she escalated herself, but she couldn't trust Lily alone in her state.

Choosing her words wisely, Emma shook her head and spoke quietly, "You are not a tiny baby anymore, Lily. You're right. Luke is a baby, and of course, this little baby will be here before we know it. You were a baby, but you're becoming a big girl. But," The mother rose, reaching for a frame on a top shelf over the window. "See this? Who is this?"

Lily refused to answer, so Emma kept talking. "This is you and me. You are a year old in this picture," Emma couldn't help but smile as she explained the situation. "We were at Grandma and Papa's on your birthday." In the photo, Lily was smiling with a wide-open mouth and Emma bore a smile just as big, cuddling their faces close together. "See, you're not this tiny baby anymore. But you know that song, the one Daddy and I sing to you? You'll always be my baby. Even when you're a big girl, you're still _my_ little girl, who I will always love. Just as much as I loved you on the day you were born. Do you understand that, Lily?"

She didn't speak and turned to look out the window once again. Emma set the picture down and pulled Lily into her lap, also keeping her eye on the swirling snow. "I like Christmas, but I don't really like this time of year. It's too cold. And I don't like the snow," She commented, feeling Lily's muscles start to relax beneath her hold as she talked about anything except the episode the girl was having. "Do you like the snow?"

"No." Was the one word reply, as Lily's head fell against Emma's chest.

"It can be fun to play in, for a little bit, I guess. You and Daddy played in the snow last year. Do you remember that?"

She gave one curt nod. Emma continued talking. "Maybe Rianne can come over sometime over your days off of school The two of you could play in the snow and I'll make you hot chocolate when you come inside.

"Rianne won't come. She won't even play with me."

Emma rubbed Lily's arms, giving squeezing, massaging sensations in attempt to keep her calm. "Oh? Why is that?"

"...She's mad at me...Because when we go outside, I play with Scottie on the playground. 'Cause it's the only time we see him! And at library, but that is only a little bit on one day. She got mad 'cause I wouldn't play fairies with her. I told her she could play superheroes with us, but she got so mad and wouldn't say anything."

Emma had to wonder if that was different than usual, as she was still suspicious that Rianne conversed with Lily, but she let it slide.

"And tomorrow is the last day! And I won't see her for a long time! And she'll be still mad at me even when a long time is over and I see her again!" She huffed and hid her face between her knees again, screaming, "I hate preschool!"

Emma had to stifle a laugh — poor Lily, at only four year old was already experiencing the drama of school. "Bab—er, Lily, it's not that bad. Honey, everything will be alright. Rianne will get over being upset, and she will still be your friend. How about we have Mrs. Riley sit down with you girls in the morning and we'll make sure it's all settled before the break?"

Lily began to cry genuine tears, turning into her mother and sobbing into her shoulder. Emma fought back tears herself as she patted the girl's back, finger combing her hair — anything to comfort her.

* * *

><p>"She was just...unconsolable. She cried for two hours, straight. She's still sleeping; I might bring her in when she wakes up...after midnight..." Emma spoke to the school psychologist over the phone early the following morning, rubbing her eyes in attempt to stay awake. "Yeah, I could bring her in anytime today...Alright, thank you so much."<p>

"Dada!" Luke squealed from his high chair as his mother ended the phone call, cringing as he threw a hand full of puffy cereal on the floor.

"Lukie, why won't you eat? You're supposed to be my easy baby. I can't keep feeding you when the baby comes, you know."

"Dada!"

"Daddy's at work, sweetie," She sighed, sweeping the forgotten food into a dustpan before throwing it away. "He'll be home at noon, and then you are going to Sarah's." She kissed his forehead, not minding one bit that he couldn't understand a word she said. "And Mommy, Lily, and Daddy are going to see if you're going to have a baby brother or sister. What do you think of that? I hope you've got a baby brother on the way! Yeah, I think that would be—"

"Mommy!" Lily shrieked from down the hall, startling both Emma and Luke. The mother ensured the boy was strapped in tight and moved with haste down the hall, to find Lily on the edge of the master bed, tears trickling down her face. "Mommy!"

"I'm here, I'm here, honey. Mommy's right here," She sighed, lifting Lily into a tight hug and kissing her cheeks. "What's got you so upset, huh?"

"Bad guys! They-they were trying to take me! A-and they tried to hurt Rianne! I-I was so scared!"

Emma moved them out of the room and into the kitchen, placing Lily on the counter, forcing her to meet her gaze. "Lily, you were having a very bad dream. There are no bad guys here. They can't get you. Rianne is safe. There aren't going to hurt anyone, because they aren't real. Do you understand me? You're safe, Lily."

"They came in my room...and-and hurt me! And Daddy! He-he got hit!"

"It's okay, it's okay...you know what? Let's go see Mrs. Klark, okay? She's going to help you, Lily. I promise."

"No! The bad guys are in the garage! Mommy, no! We can't leave! They will get us!"

Lily was hysterical, shouting nonsense as Emma made every effort to relieve her anxiety. "Honey..." A tear slid down the mother's cheek as she ran out of attempts to calm her. "Lily, stop, baby...just stop."

Not sure how she would explain this particular episode to anyone, Emma moved Lily to the living room and quickly opened her laptop, activating the webcam and set it on the coffee table in front of the screeching girl, moving back to sit next to her and soothe her.

"They're going to get me!" Lily yelled, hitting her legs in frustration. "Mommy, they're going to get me!"

"No they're not, Lily...there are no bad guys, Lily. It was just a bad dream. I—"

"Stop!" Lily shouted, standing on the sofa, her face a red, blotchy mess of anger and hysteria. "Stop! No more!"

Glad she'd set up the camera to record the sudden mood change, Emma blinked quickly in attempt to figure out what she could do next. She prepared to take Lily in a basket hold like she had the night before, but Lily had no intention of being coddled that morning. She reached a hand out and slapped Emma's arm as it came within her range, glaring daggers at the woman she resembled. "No touch!"

Feeling that this was a sign of Lily about to take her animalistic instinct and run wild, Emma lunged forward and restrained her in the backwards hug she usually gave. But she also wasn't usually alone or six months pregnant in her previous experiences. "Lily Ann, you need to calm down. Sh, sh, sh...take deep breaths, Lily—"

The little girl screeched, her eyes shut tightly and head shaking violently, causing Emma to dodge her own face, lest have her teeth knocked out by the force of Lily's anger.

It was ten minutes later when Lily's throat seemed raw with rage and her breathing returned to a steadier pace. She collapsed against her mother, stuffing her middle and index fingers into her mouth and letting tears roll down her cheeks. "Mommy..."

"Lily..." Emma said her name faintly, switching her position to a cradle hold, rocking her daughter slowly, sighing in relief that the episode was over. "Baby, we need to go to school. I need you to see Mrs. Riley."

Lily didn't respond, but didn't fight Emma as she stood up and turned off the webcam, ensuring she'd saved the video to share with the psychologist when they arrived.

Luke was still sitting contently in his high chair, which Emma used to her advantage to dress Lily into something other than pajamas, and pull the girl's hair back into a messy ponytail, not bothering to dress her up. Luke could get away with wearing a sleeper in public, and the mother had both kids out the door within ten minutes of the meltdown.

* * *

><p>Lily was sent to class after a brief conversation with Mrs. Riley, who assured Emma that the four-year-old should not be around for their discussion. "If we need her, we can call her right back in. Mrs. Klark is going to do a little intervention between her and Rianne to patch their friendship up. They'll be fine within ten minutes. But I really want to see that video.<p>

Emma felt her throat tightening as she willed her tears back while watching Lily's episode and her response to it.

"Wow...just...wow, Mrs. Schuester, I'm very pleased that you thought to record that. I'm sure it was an internal struggle for you to do so, but this will be very valuable as we continue to monitor her condition and progress."

The redhead kept her eyes locked on her son, who babbled contently in his seat, kicking his legs in fascination with the toys that hung from the handle. "I want to know if you think Lily has a bi-polar disorder. I know you've brought it up as one of many possibilities, but...after Will's mom passed...I started to wonder about her medical history, and I'd put money on her having an undiagnosed case of it, which eventually manifested itself into the Alzheimer's. And I know it's highly genetic...and I know it's common to have an anxiety disorder alongside of it."

Mrs. Riley brought her hands together in front of her chin and said very clearly, very seriously, "I agree with you." At the statement, Emma broke down and let her tears fall, just as she had earlier in the morning. Mrs. Riley shook her head. "But I'm not going to label her as bi-polar just yet, Mrs. Schuester." She snapped her head up, confused. "It is _extremely_ rare that anyone would diagnose a child as young as Lily with a bi-polar disorder. It was rare enough that she was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. And while we have every reason to believe the correct diagnosis was made, there is that possibility, and there always is, that we are wrong. There are scales and tests, and every type of way to examine a child...but something like bi-polar disorder is very hard to correctly identify, especially with someone so young. It's not like you can run a genetics test and say she has a deformity on whatever chromosome number it might be."

Emma nodded, dabbing her tears with a tissue from Mrs. Riley's desk. "So, what will we do?"

"We'll monitor this very carefully. I want every meltdown or episode like this recorded in a spreadsheet or journal. It's hard to tell with preschoolers if they're throwing a tantrum or if it's something deeper. Judging from what I've seen in person and this example of what happens at home, I'd say this isn't a regular tantrum. This is a mood swing, and it's a very common sign of early onset bi-polar disorder."

"...If this is...officially, someday, I mean...what she has, what does the future look like for Lily?"

Mrs. Riley gave a reassuring smile. "The future for Lily is whatever we help her to make of it. If we give her the tools she needs to manage it, she'll be fine. She can be successful at anything if we prepare her for it."

The two spoke for nearly an hour about what the next few months and years would look like as they would work with one another, Lily's teachers, and other school staff who would be closest to the girl. They bounced ideas off of one another about possible behavior interventions to try, and how they would measure progress.

"...In the end, our goal is to have her in a regular classroom. She's only in preschool, but all her assessments have been on task with her age and developmental level, cognitively and physically. She's already ahead in several areas of writing — she can print all of her letters, her name, and Mrs. Klark told me she's been doing first grade level sight words in reading. That's great, and we don't want to hold her back academically. But if her behavior affects her performance in the classroom, we have to do what is best for Lily and the rest of the students. I still think the smaller class size with enhanced behavior techniques is the best choice for her, at least for the remainder of this school year. I know we had set a goal to have her in the regular preschool class by next September, and we'll see if that happens. We can't predict the future, Mrs. Schuester. We can only manage today."

The two parted and Emma eyed the time, deciding that Lily's class ended in a little under an hour and there was no reason to drive home when she'd be leaving so soon anyway.

She moved to the observation booth, where a grin broke out on her face at the sight of Lily and Rianne laughing together at Mrs. Klark's elf costume. "That's silly!" Lily shouted, absolutely giddy at the sight before her as the teacher described in dramatic fashion what it was like to be a hardworking elf in Santa's workshop.

"You're not really an elf, Mrs. Klark!" Lily said loudly, standing up and stretching as high as she could. "You're so big! Elves are tiny like me!"

"Are you an elf, Lily?" The woman joked.

Lily fell back down, laughing again. "Yes, I am! I am a little elf and I work in Santa's workshop and I make dolly toys!"

After the exchange, Mrs. Klark passed out small, wrapped presents to each of the kids, instructing them to wait until she said so to open them. It was torturous for the four and five year olds to do, as it was almost five full minutes before the teacher allowed them to tear the paper off — but it was a good practice in patience for each of them, who received a new book and puppet to go along with it. Those with verbal skills thanked her endlessly, before the group was transitioned into a holiday-themed snack.

"Mommy!" Lily hollered when she ran out of the room at dismissal time, "Mommy, look! I got Angelina Ballerina!"

"I see!" Emma smiled, taking the now elated girl into her arms. "Wow, you're one lucky girl. Are you feeling better than you did this morning?"

She nodded and placed her things in Luke's diaper bag, leaving her hands-free to skip and prance down the hall, a wickedly happy version of the child she'd been that morning.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Emma tapped her fingers nervously against the center counsel of the SUV as Will drove them to the obstetrician's office. They hadn't been able to convince their unborn child to move at their last visit, and their ultrasound hadn't revealed a gender. This was supposed to be the deciding trip.<p>

"Em," Will whispered, taking her anxious fingers into his own, bringing her palm to his lips as he kept his eyes on the road. "It's fine. I'm sure we'll get a picture this time, don't worry."

She shook her head. "I'm worried about getting it," She said in a low tone, not wanting Lily to hear her in the backseat. "I want a boy, Will. If it's a girl...I don't know what we're going to do."

"Mommy? Can we get baby's Christmas present after this?" Lily piped into the conversation, mindlessly pulling on strands of curly hair.

Emma caught sight of her in the mirror before turning around. "Honey, don't pick at your hair, please."

Realizing what she'd been doing, Lily pulled her hand away from her scalp like it was hot fire and screwed her face up into tears, which Emma did her best to prevent, reaching an arm to the back and gently patting her legs. "You're okay, there's no need to cry. I was just reminding you."

"I'm sorry," She sniffed, attempting to pull herself together, twisting the fabric of her dress together in her lap, radiating guilt.

"There's no need to apologize," Emma smiled reassuringly. "But we certainly can go get the baby a present after this, if you'd like to."

They entered the OB's office several minutes later, Lily holding her mother's had expectantly. Dr. Romano happened to be at the front desk when they walked in, and came around gushing at the preschooler. "She's so big! Hi Lily! Hi, sweet girl, how are you?"

She ducked shyly behind Emma's legs and the doctor stood with a smile. "She's precious."

Will laughed at his daughter's behavior, imagining her mother acting in much the same way as a child. "You're fine, baby. And thank you. She's cute. A big handful, but...she's got the sweet factor going for her."

"Well, let's have my wonderful nurse Jackie take mom back, and once we've got her prepped, Lily and Will can join us, too?"

Emma nodded, finally assure of herself to the point that she could be alone in an office.

When they were allowed back, Lily clutched Will's shoulders nervously, even after being assured that she wouldn't be the one examined. "I'm fine, honey," Emma insisted as Lily's eyes welled up with tears at the sight of her mother stretched out on the exam table. "This is how we get a picture of the baby."

Dr. Romano took the time to explain an ultrasound in the simplest way possible, then asked, "Are you ready to see your sibling?"

Lily nodded and the doctor dispensed the cold, blue gel onto Emma's belly, spreading it around with the imaging device as a blurry form of a child appeared on the screen. "That's the baby, Lily," Will murmured and the doctor began pointing out body parts.

"And...it appears to me that we have...A little sister for Lily! It's a girl!"

The smile on Emma's face dropped and Will reached for her hand while keeping Lily steady on his hip. "You're sure?" She whispered, trying to keep calm.

"Yes, we've got female anatomy, as you can see," Dr. Romano said, pointed to the screen.

"Baby Grace!" Lily said loudly, a tiny smile on her lips. "I have a sister!"

The appointment carried on, and neither Will or Emma had much to say to one another until their children were tucked into bed and they collapsed on the sofa, Emma in tears.

"Why is this happening?" She groaned, into Will's shoulder, clutching him tightly.

"It's going to be alright. I really don't think we're replicating the same situation, here. You're not going to travel and risk giving birth early, we know how to be much better parents, we know the signs to look for."

"Grace is still going to be genetically predisposed to mental illness," Emma said quietly, wiping her cheek and shaking her head. "And now Lily has competition."

"It's not going to be like that, Em—"

"You don't what it's like to have a sister, Will! And even if Grace doesn't have an anxiety disorder, or a bi-polar—"

Will cut her off sharply, "We don't know if Lily is bi-polar, Emma. It's only speculation."

"It doesn't matter, that's not the point!" Emma was nearly shouting as she stood, her hands flying as she spoke. "If Grace doesn't have any mental problems, that's going to be better for us, but worse for Lily! She's going to have a younger sister who should be looking up to her, and instead, Grace is going to see her sister having meltdowns and panic attacks and manic episodes, and it's just...it's going to be awful!"

Will met her at eye level, bending slightly to keep the contact. "Emma, sweetheart, you're getting hysterical. It's not going to be what you're saying. We are the parents, we are in control. If Grace has a mental illness, we'll deal with it. If she doesn't, we can focus that attention all on Lily, and work on shaping her into a role model for Grace, and Luke. It's not going to be as bad as you think. I won't let it."

* * *

><p>Christmas came and passed, and when the bitter cold of January struck, so did Emma's complete misery. The end of her second trimester was approaching, and she was inflated in every part of her body. Baby Grace's temporary habitation of her was grueling.<p>

Lily had discovered the hard way that her pregnant mother was susceptible to mood swings as strong as her own — leaving both the Schuester ladies in frequent tears with one another's attitudes, and Will in the middle, conflicted with who he should provide his comfort to the most.

The beginning of February brought anything but peace in the Schuester household, as ten-month-old Luke was still rejecting most solid foods, pulling himself up and falling in the most inconvenient of places, and causing chaos everywhere he went.

His crib had been replaced, and a second one added, with Annie's twins' former sleeping places both placed against the longest wall. The decor hadn't changed, and Emma was far from concerned with assuring her second daughter would have a healthy dose of pink in her life. She was merely focused on surviving the coming months of chaos.

Emma had been having frequent flashbacks to long nights in college, when she'd study with the television on low in the background. Her roommate's program of choice often fell to the cartoon _Rugrats_. Emma would have been lying if she said she didn't enjoy it — but like it or not, one storyline seemed to fall to the front of her mind.

One-year-old Tommy had always been a sweet, adventurous little boy until baby Dil showed up. There were clear moments of jealousy between the two infants, and it was a scary thought — but even more terrifying was Tommy and Dil's mother Didi's reaction to having two babies. While a younger viewer might not notice, she could easily see the struggle the cartoon mom faced in sharing attention and resources for the children. Then there was Didi's husband, Stu, who was typically more interested in his inventions than ensuring each child was properly cared for. He wasn't neglectful or a bad father, but he was distracted.

The nightmare of the animated parallels didn't end there. One final factor remained which attempted to wreak havoc on baby Tommy and Dil's lives. Their four-year-old cousin, Angelica.

The moody, relatively spoiled child was in too many ways similar to Lily. Sweet and adorable, with a nasty deviant streak. She'd wait until the attention of the adults was focused elsewhere, before doing anything in her power tom make the babies miserable.

Emma shivered at the thought. This was real life, not television. The comparisons might translate into portions of reality in some aspects, but she had control over the situation before her — no matter how unobtainable that control appeared.

Yet on the first Saturday in February, eight weeks before Emma's due date of March 29th, the chaos exploded around her.

Will had left at five the previous morning for a continuing education seminar and conference in Chicago, over seven hours away. She'd felt no choice but to stay home, in no condition to travel. She'd been in pain for two full days, completely exhausted and nauseated. After self-prescribing bed rest, she'd taken up an offer she'd received earlier in the week from Quinn Fabray, who was in Lima for her winter semester break, to entertain the kids for the day. She'd arrived at seven thirty, providing the children with hours of entertainment, and checking in on Emma every so often.

"You're crazy," Emma stated at one point after Quinn had both the kids sleeping soundly for a nap. "Spending your senior break taking care of your cranky, old guidance counselor's kids."

Quinn laughed and took a seat on the bedspread next to her former high school hero. "It's not quite the beach...but it's not like this is my last spring break. I've still got a good eight years of school left."

"Yeah, but once you're done with undergrad, there really aren't any breaks. If you don't spend your entire week off doing homework...you'll be in a heap of trouble, that's for sure." Emma groaned and attempted to roll onto her back, but found herself in too much pain to do so. "God, this is miserable."

Quinn teased, "I'd think after two others, you'd be used to it...especially since you were like this not even a year ago."

Emma sent a mock-glare at the blonde. "I didn't exactly plan this."

They carried on conversation for another fifteen or so minutes before things took an ugly turn. Emma's eyes widened as a gush of liquid burst between her legs and Quinn noticed quickly, meeting her panicked expression.

"I'm going to need you to drive me to the hospital," The elder woman said in a shaky voice, attempting to remain calm as to not worsen the familiar situation with stress.

"You haven't been contracting—?"

"I...I think I have been...I thought it was just pain...it felt different...but...oh, oh—!" She hissed as a wave of a blinding pain surged through her lower half. "Quinn, call...in my contacts, — Sarah!"

The blonde nodded, quickly making the call, instructing the neighbor to come over as soon as possible. She flew through the bedroom door within minutes, removing Emma's blankets and agreeing that the mother was in preterm labor, for the second time. "Paul will take the kids," Sarah insisted, "Quinn, right?" The younger girl nodded. "Can you take her to the hospital with me?" She agreed and once Paul had both kids in his hold, the three women sped towards the hospital.

"They have to stop it," Emma whispered, shaking in pain and holding Sarah's hand tightly as Quinn rubbed her shoulders in attempt to keep her anxiety at bay. "I can't have another child like Lily, I can't handle it. Grace can't come today. I need Will. I need Will, I need him."

"We'll call him as soon as we're there. Honey, Grace is going to come when she's ready. The doctors will do their best to stop it," Sarah said realistically, her years of experience as a nurse speaking for her, "But it's eight weeks — her chances aren't too—"

"Have you not seen Lily?" Emma shrieked, gripping the armrest of her seat as they pulled up to the hospital. "She's a nightmare! I know that there's a lot of things that went wrong, but her prematurity is part of it! I can't do this to another child! I can't, I can't!" Tears spilled down her cheeks as an attendant brought a wheelchair out and a blur of activity took place around her, and within minutes, a doctor was explaining they would be attempting to stop her labor with medication as they assisted her into a hospital bed and hooked an IV into her left arm.

"I cannot have this baby today!" She said frantically, her words a slur through her anxiety and distress. "I already had one baby six weeks early and she has a host of problems now, and I can't have another! I can't have this baby! I need my husband!"

"Alright, Mrs. Schuester, we're going to do our best, but you've got to help us out by staying calm. The higher your blood pressure climbs, the less likely it will be that we'll be able to prevent this."

A few more minutes passed — an examination was given, blood was drawn, medication was dispensed, monitors were hooked up and Emma was still trying not to hyperventilate.

When the activity slowed in the room, Emma requested her cellphone, trying to keep her breathing even as she dialed her husband.

He didn't answer.

She called again.

Still nothing.

"Damnit, Will!" She cried, hanging up again.

Several seconds later she received a text that read: _I'm about halfway done with my third session. I'll talk to you in a few hours_.

Feeling bitter, Emma shook her head and called again, this time Will answered, likely trying to keep his voice down in the hallway.

"Honey, I'm—"

"I'm in labor, Will!" She hissed into the phone, tears burning her cheeks.

"What? Emma—"

"They're giving me medication to try and stop it, but who knows what's going to happen. I feel like it's Texas all over again and _I need you here, Will._"

"Oh my god, okay...um...I'll...damnit, I'll call the airport, see if there's anything available in the next hour, if not, I'll have to drive." They'd carpooled on the way down, so he didn't even have a vehicle of his own, but Will was sure one of his coworkers would understand the gravity of the situation. "It's going to be awhile, sweetie, but I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Please, Will, hurry. I need you. I need you."

"I know, I know...I love you, Emma. I'll call again when I've figured this out."

She sniffed and nodded. "I love you, too."

The call was ended and both Quinn and Sarah took places on either side of Emma, holding her hands. "You're going to get through this, Em," Sarah nodded firmly. "One way or another. If that baby comes today, she'll be alright. They'll do everything they can to ensure she's—"

"That's what they said for Lily!" Emma cried, "And now she's a mess! I know it wasn't all because of the prematurity, I know it wasn't. But...now Grace is going to be at the same risk that Lily was — and I just don't understand how this is happening _again_!"

* * *

><p>Will's palms were sweaty against the steering wheel. He was five out of seven hours into his drive home — waiting for a flight would have caused him to lose precious time that he simply didn't have.<p>

He was about to brake at an Indiana toll booth when his phone rang and his heart sank as Sarah's number lit up on the screen.

"Yeah?" He managed to say, pulse racing.

"Will, the baby is in distress. There isn't a steady heartbeat. They're prepping Emma for C-section. I'm going in with her."

"Oh god, oh god—"

"Will, focus and drive safely. Quinn is going to call you with updates. I'm staying with Emma."

She hung up before he could ask any more questions.

* * *

><p>"When is my Mommy coming home?" Lily asked Paul, tugging his pant leg as he walked passed her place on the living room floor, where she was animatedly playing with a train set, attempting to get her baby brother involved.<p>

The blonde haired man sighed and took a seat next to her. "Well, your Momma's still at the hospital."

"That's where we went from the car accident," Lily recalled from the year before. "And when Lukie was born."

"Yep...You know babies are born at the hospital, right Lil?" She nodded and he continued. "But your Momma's baby Grace isn't supposed to be born at the hospital for a few more weeks. Something is going a little bit wrong though. Baby Grace wants to come early."

"But Mommy said last night she isn't ready for baby Grace! Can't she keep her in?"

Paul smirked sadly. "No, honey, she can't. Only the doctors can help baby Grace stay in. And I don't know if they will be able to. If baby Grace wants to come out...she's going to come out."

"And Mommy's tummy will be little again?"

He nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Yes, but when babies are born early, they are sometimes very sick. So everyone is a little bit worried about baby Grace coming so soon. It could be awhile before your Momma comes home. But don't you worry, alright? I'm going to take good care of you and Luke."

* * *

><p>Quinn held Emma and Sarah's hands before they were taken to the room where the C-section would take place. In a low voice, she prayed. As she finished, Emma felt tears on her cheeks, but wasn't in any state to do anything about it.<p>

As the two elder women were escorted by a surgical team, Quinn sat in a chair in front of the doors, clutching a rosary in her palm, starting the chain of prayer, her soft, collected whisper filling the air around her.

_Hail Mary, full of Grace_

A blue barrier was set up in front of Emma's face, blocking her view of what was about to take place on her abdomen. She closed her eyes, recalling details of the video of birthing methods she'd seen while pregnant with Lily. This hadn't been an option for her then. Now, it was her only choice.

_Our Lord is with thee_

Will sped down the interstate, ignoring any speed limit signs and passing slow drivers at a speed he hadn't considered using since high school. A lump was heavy in his throat, but he refused to let it bubble. He wouldn't be any good to his wife or children if his recklessness left him in a ditch.

_Blessed art thou among women,_

Sarah refused to watch the team make the first incision, knowing it was destroying Emma, mentally, and marring her body forever physically. Her best friend lay on the operating bed below her, her eyes misted over and voice trembling as she attempted to speak. Sarah shook her head. "Honey, just relax."

_And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus._

Lily giggled as Luke beat a plastic train against the carpet, and Scott shook his head, moving behind the baby to guide him in rolling the wheels on the track. The older of the two Schuester children cheered and clapped her hands as Scott continued to assist him, making the littler boy laugh as well, his smile miles wide.

_Holy Mary, Mother of God,_

Will shook his head and jammed his finger against the power button on the radio, biting his bottom lip to keep from sobbing in the now silent car.

_Pray for us sinners,_

Quinn's voice shook as she finished the first prayer.

_Now and at the hour of our death._

Layers of skin, fat, muscle, and tissue had been separated. Sarah dared to peek at what was happening. A small, limp, blue form was removed from Emma's abdomen by the skilled hands of an obstetrician. No noise was heard in the room.

_Amen_.

* * *

><p>Small note: If the whole last portion felt rushed to you — good. It was intended to. I've already written a birth scene very similar to this. In leu of being repetitive from <em>Beautiful Mess<em> — although, that's partly the point of this third installment — I wrote this in the jumpy style I did, to convey the urgency and stress of the situation. Also, I'm not even Catholic. I'm not trying to push religion on anybody or offend them. Is Quinn even Catholic? IDKLOLWhatever, it was my former roommate's idea, and she doesn't even watch _Glee_ or read fanfiction. (It probably would have translated better on TV.)

_**Thank you for all of the support**__ and fueling my desire to continue writing this._


	8. Chapter 8

**Smut Warning **

Will shook his head and crumbled into a seat next to Quinn, his shoulders shaking as his former student put a comforting arm around him. There weren't any words she could give him, no pieces of advice or calming phrases came to mind. The blonde sighed and bit her lip, the need to say something was consuming. He finally broke the silence by sitting up slightly, eyes half-closed in exhaustion and the unsettling feeling of dread in his stomach. "Thank you for being here, Quinn."

"Of course," She whispered, swallowing hard as his eyes glazed over with tears once again. "I wish there was something more I could do."

"I'm sure there will be," Will said softly and pressed his fingertips to his temples. "I don't really know where to go from here...but, we'll have something figured out in a few hours, I hope. Where is that doctor?"

As if on cue, a man in a long white coat greeted the Schuester, his expression grave has he went through what had happened a few hours before.

* * *

><p>For the second time in her life, Emma felt the pit of complete emptiness in the depths of her being as she lay flat on her back, her left fingers idly stroking the plastic of her hospital bands on her right wrist. She'd just come out of the anesthetic they'd given her shortly after the Cesarian procedure, when a full-blown panic attack consumed her. Right now, she should be smiling, laughing, taking pictures with her newborn child — but her arms were empty of any sign of life.<p>

Sarah was sitting in a chair beneath the window of the recovery room, snoozing lightly with her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand. Emma was thankful her best friend had been with her throughout the entire ordeal, but now she wanted to be completely alone, secluded to her thoughts. She needed time to grieve what had happened.

* * *

><p>"Emma," Will breathed, entering the room in a rush, settling himself next to her with caution, not trying to disturb her no-doubt sensitive stomach.<p>

She tried to say his name, but it only came out as a sob. He pulled her face to his, their foreheads resting against one another and tears mixing on her cheeks. "I-I-I'm so, so s-sorry," She choked.

"Sh, sh, no, Emma...no," He insisted, kissing her repeatedly. "Sweetheart, I don't know what to say right now. All I know is that we're going to get through this."

* * *

><p>Sarah closed the door tightly behind her, activating the house security code as she stepped into her kitchen, jumping a little at the sight of Lily awake in Paul's arms at the kitchen table as her husband sat in front of his laptop.<p>

"Is Mommy here?" Was the first question out of the four-year-old's mouth as Sarah crossed the tile to take a seat next to her.

"No, Lily. Mommy has to spend the night at the hospital for the next couple of days."

Having been prepared for an onslaught of tears, Sarah opened her arms for the girl to climb into, and took her to sit in the living room, rocking her slowly in the lazy-boy. "Why can't she come home?"

Sarah closed her eyes, unsure how to explain the situation to someone so little. "Sweetie, your Mommy is going to be okay." It was true, physically, Emma would heal, she would be okay. Mentally and emotionally on the other hand...

* * *

><p>The sterile room was silent as Will's fists clenched and unclenched in attempt to stay calm. The doctor was waiting for some sort of reaction from either he or his wife, but neither knew what they could say.<p>

Finally, barely audible, Emma asked, "Was it me? Was it my fault? I was under so much stress, and I knew it wasn't good for either me or the baby...but there just wasn't anything that could be done, and—"

"I really don't think you could have done anything differently which would have prevented this, Mrs. Schuester," Dr. Romano said quietly, patting Emma's leg. "The procedure was complicated for both of you. You had a full-blown panic attack and Grace didn't breathe for a full three minutes. Her little heart just wasn't strong enough."

"But, I—"

Shaking himself of his anger for a moment, Will stroked his wife's hair and kissed her cheek, "Honey, she's right. This wasn't anything you could have prevented. You've been so cautious, the entire pregnancy. Even when everything was falling apart around us, you held it together and took care of yourself. You saw when things were too stressful. You made choices to sit down and relax rather than continue to give into the pressure. You ate well, you took all the vitamins you were supposed to."

Emma sniffed, blotting tears with the corner of her sleeve. "I'm just so tired. I'm so tired of nothing ever working out the way it's supposed to. I just want to be happy," She cried, "I need to be happy."

"Emma, this doesn't mean we can't be happy—"

She sat up straight in anger, cringing as her stitches tore at her belly. "We already had one child with a disability, Will. And that is difficult enough, in case you've forgotten. Now we'll have another, only this one with health and physical issues? Oh, and one child in the middle of it all, starving for attention between both his sisters who will require all of our time and energy? Tell me where there's room for happiness in this!" Emma was hysterical, her hormones completely out of balance, the medication being pumped through her veins, and circumstances surrounding the entire situation had led her to her breaking point.

"Sweetie," Will sighed, pulling her close to him, allowing her to crumple against his chest with heavy sobs. "Em, we're going to—"

"Don't tell me that we're going to be okay, Will! We're not, we're not going to be okay! We were falling apart because of Lily's disability. Don't tell me that Grace's isn't going to affect us in the same way! I can't lose you!"

"And you're not going to, Emma...honey," He pulled her back, taking both her wrists in his hands, forcing her blood-shot eyes to meet his own. "I'm not going anywhere. I swear to you, I promise, you are not going to lose me. No matter what. I don't care if Grace never walks, or talks or...anything. She's here with us, and that's what matters. Maybe Lily will have outbursts every day. Maybe Luke will turn into a wild child — I don't know what is going to happen. But whatever does, we're going to work through it all, together. As a family. Nothing can separate us after everything we've been through, Emma. Nothing."

Dr. Romano smiled at the sight before her, hesitant to interrupt. "We really don't know what the future will hold for Grace. The procedure will probably be a few more hours. We'll have a better picture of what she might be facing then."

Emma made a move to reply but a sudden surge of nausea passed through her and without warning, she leaned over the side of the bed, getting sick onto the tile floor, crying like Lily usually did when experiencing such an event. "Oh, god..."

"It's alright, it's alright," The doctor insisted as Will rubbed Emma's back, pulling her close to cuddle her. "We'll take care of it. That's probably from the anesthetic...the nausea can last up to forty-eight hours, so we'll get you a few sick pans." A nurse was there in within moments to assist in cleaning up the mess, and the doctor continued to give warnings. "For tonight and through the morning, I really need you to just rest. We'll try walking in the afternoon. I'm going to get you hooked up with some more pain medication, and you'll be out in no time. Will, that chair over there flips into a pull-out, and you can move it right next to your wife. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Will spent the next five minutes kissing every inch of Emma's face he could — soft, sweet pecks which comforted her to some degree. Her anxiety loosened and she found herself noticing the pain in her stomach far more than she had when her mind was clouded by horrific thoughts.

"Your medicine is coming, sweetheart," Will whispered, rubbing Emma's arms and kissing her shoulders. "It's going to be alright, real soon."

"I-I wonder how Lily is doing," She sniffed, sighing deeply. "I'm sure she's worried."

"I'm sure she is, Em. I'll go home sometime in the morning and have a talk with her, explain all this as best I can."

"...I remember reading that a C-section recovery time usually takes three to four days in the hospital, then another six weeks at home. Then, there's going to be Grace having to be in the NICU for who knows how long...Will, this is about to become one disaster after another. I'm sure I won't be able to bring the kids here, and what about Lily and school? Where will Luke stay—"

"Emma, Emma..." He nuzzled her cheek with his nose. "You need to stop worrying. Everything will fall into place. We have wonderful friends and family who you know will drop anything to help us. You don't need to stress about this. We're going to get it all figured out. Tonight, just rest. I'll wake you up as soon as there is word on Gracie."

"Gracie?" She sighed the name, a sad smile forming on her lips. "Will, I know you don't like it...but please, pray for her, okay? She's going to need a lot of help. And if things could just turn in her favor for a little while...maybe she'll be fine. Maybe she won't need the sort of treatments and therapies the doctors think that she will."

"Honey," Will bit his bottom lip. The exaggerated hope she had was exactly why he typically didn't pray. But maybe, he could take this moment, like he had when Lily was born, to challenge his beliefs and do it anyway. "Yes, I will. I will, Emma."

Dr. Romano returned with a new IV bag, attaching it to a hook and twisting the hose into a spot in Emma's arm. "Alright, this should start working within minutes. Relax and let it take you to sleep. Will, I'll ask you to step out of the bed now, please."

Agreeable, Will stood and pressed a kiss to Emma's temple before unfolding the chair nearby into a cot, allowing himself to crash for some much-needed sleep.

* * *

><p>"She's stable, for now," A surgeon spoke quietly to Will while Emma remained in a deep slumber several hours after they'd been sleeping. "The surgery went relatively well. We ran into a few rough spots, but Grace hung on through all of it. There is going to be a long recovery period, and within that, depending on her progress, there is a possibility of follow-up surgery."<p>

Will rubbed a hand over his face. "When can we see her?"

"I'd wait until morning, when the swelling has been given a chance to go down. It might be a bit traumatizing to see your child in such a state. Especially for your wife, who needs rest after everything this afternoon."

"Right," Will sighed. "But she's going to make it, through the next few weeks?"

The surgeon shrugged. "Mr. Schuester, the surgery wasn't a cure-all. She's very small, very week, and very vulnerable to infection. There is a lot that could still happen. I don't want to provide you with false security. But I do believe that Grace's chances of survival are good. I don't know what her quality of life will be like. I can't predict that. But the surgery went well."

"How long do you think she'll be in the NICU?"

The man scratched at his chin. "At least six weeks, if not longer. It's what is safest for her, the healthiest environment with round-the-clock-care we can provide."

The two men spoke for a few more minutes before departing, and Will took one fleeting look at his sleeping wife before making a decision to see Grace before she did. She needed to be prepared for what was to come; lest they all experience another panic attack.

After essentially signing his life away, scrubbing to his elbows, dressing in full scrubs; including a hair cover, face mask, non-latex gloves, and booties, Will was allowed to take a step into the room where his youngest daughter was recovering. A nurse led the way, and gave a nod to the incubator Grace was held securely in.

Will didn't even have a chance to properly process the sight of his daughter before he began crying, silent tears trickling down his face as he took her in. It was hardly the resemblance of a baby, lying on her back, with wires running every direction on her tiny body, a bandage wrapped around an incision on her chest, an oxygen tube around her nose and nothing but a diaper clothing her. It was worse than the sight of premature Lily, who hadn't needed surgery or anything apart from a dose of oxygen for a few days as she gained weight. Grace's skin was a strange shade of pink, nearly translucent. She was puffy in some places, and mind-blowingly thin in others. Will didn't know what to make of her.

"You can talk to her," A nurse suggested with a sympathetic smile. "She'd love to hear your voice."

Will nodded and crouched down lower to the case, sniffing back a few tears. "Hey, baby Grace. Hi, sweetheart. I'm your Daddy...and I'm so sorry I wasn't her earlier. You could have had better timing, little one." He laughed a little. "But you're perfect, just the way you are. I wouldn't change a thing about you. I just hope you can get strong and healthy real soon so we can take you home. You've got two siblings waiting for you...There's baby Luke, whom you are only...ten months younger than, if you can believe it...And there's also Lily, who is four. She doesn't really know what to make of having a sister...but hopefully you two will be playing together in no time. And then there's your poor mom, who's so stressed out she can hardly see straight...I really need you to get strong for her, baby Grace."

He stayed with her for almost half an hour before he simply couldn't look at her any longer. He needed to process and reflect what was happening before Emma would awaken.

* * *

><p>Sarah huffed hair out of her face as she attempted to configure a way to calm a hysterical Lily. She'd seen enough meltdowns in her experience with the girl, but it seemed Emma had the magic touch that she didn't in calming her. After almost an hour of chasing and being bit or kicked at, the blonde had given into bargaining, ready to try anything to keep the household sane.<p>

"How about I let you talk to your Daddy on the phone?"

Suddenly, the small redhead threw herself to the floor, giving up and crying loudly. Sarah sighed and dialed Will, praying he'd answer.

"He's not going to be able to talk if you're screaming," She said in a warning tone seconds before Will picked up. "Hey! How are things?"

She could hear the faint sounds of Emma crying in the background, and realized it probably wasn't the best question to ask.

"We're hanging in here, Even if only barely. I...saw Grace last night. Em just woke up and I told her...she's not too happy with me at the moment...But, the baby is stable. We'll know more later today."

"Well, that's some good news, at least." He sighed and Sarah shuffled the phone in her hands. "Do you think you'd be willing to give a quick holler at Lily? She's kind of hysterical."

"Of course, I'm so sorry—"

He was cut off as Sarah forced Lily to sit up, gently, and placed the phone in her hands. "It's Daddy. He can't talk for very long, but he wants to say a couple of things to you."

"Daddy?" Lily shrieked into the speaker.

Sarah could practically feel Will wince from the other end of the line. "Hey, baby girl. Honey, why are you so upset?"

"I want to go home!" She sobbed, "I want Mommy! I want you!"

"Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry. Mommy has to stay in the hospital for a few days. You know what? I'll come home in a few hours and we'll spend a little bit of time together. I'll tell you why Mommy is in the hospital then."

"Daddy, come home!"

"I will, I will. Lily, I love you very much, sweetheart. But right now I need to talk to Sarah. I'll come get you in a bit."

"Daddy, no—!"

Sarah took the phone back, earning a high pitched scream and a slap in the face from the four-year-old. She ignored both of the behaviors, standing up and moving to the kitchen as Will explained he'd be home after Emma saw Grace and someone else came to sit with her while he was gone, along with apologizing profusely for his eldest child's behavior.

"I want Daddy!" She screeched, kicking at the back of Sarah's legs, tugging her belt loops and throwing her head back in frustration. The blonde hung up the phone and turned her attention to Lily, crouching at her level and opening her arms for a hug.

Lily fell forward into it, beyond confused at the situation, over tired and in dire need of her mother. "I know, I know you're so sad and angry, Lily. I am sorry you are in the middle of this. We're going to figure it all out, though. I promise you. Do you want to lay down with me on the sofa?"

A loud wail from down the hall disturbed them both, and Sarah shifted the girl to her side so she could fetch Luke, who was standing in his portable crib, crying fat tears.

"Lukie misses Mommy, too," Lily mumbled, turning her head into Sarah's shoulder. She didn't bother to correct the girl that it had probably been her loud hysterics which had woken him.

"Okay, you two. How about we eat some breakfast and then we get dressed, so you're ready to spend quality time with Daddy when he comes home?"

* * *

><p>Emma was weak, having a difficult time standing, let alone walking — so when a doctor made the suggestion that she wait to see Grace, it didn't come as a surprise to Will, but Emma saw it as quite the attack.<p>

"Would you want to wait two days to see your newborn daughter, who is fighting for her life?" She shouted, her voice trembling. "I am going to see her. Whether you people want to help me or not."

Will cringed and steadied her as she stood from her bed. "Come on, let's get you walking down the hall first, before we do anything too crazy."

"But you need to go home, with the kids! What happened to that?"

"That's what I'm here for," Quinn said with a pleasant smile from the doorway, taking several steps into the room. "My flight doesn't leave until tomorrow morning, so I'll help you get moving, and Will can take care of Lily and Luke. I'd offer to do that, but I'm sure at this point they'd much rather see their dad than me." She extended a hand to Emma, "Shall we?"

Thought it was painful, Emma was willing to work through the anguish to see her daughter. Quinn was an excellent distraction from the tearing feeling in her gut, and Emma appreciated her being there.

"I heard from Puck, the other day," Quinn said quietly, one hand steadying her former guidance counselor's arm. "He called, just to chat. He usually calls me on her birthday," Quinn cleared her throat, not needing to specify who's birthday she was speaking about. "He always apologizes for everything he put me through. I always tell him not to. We cry a little bit, and don't talk to each other for another year. But...about two weeks ago, he called me, begging me to come see him during this break. I told him I really couldn't, because it's been so long since I'd been home...but, in any case, do you think it'd be a good idea? For me to go give him a visit?"

Emma shrugged. "Where does he even live? I thought he decided to try school out west?"

Quinn giggled, "Do you honestly think Puck could have made it through a university? No, he's actually very successful where he is. In Vegas."

Emma blinked. "Vegas? What does he do, run organized crime?"

"No, actually, he prevents it. You know Puck was the master cheater at anything...well, now he uses those skills to catch others. He sits in the security rooms at casinos and helps look for the people who are organizing to scam the system. He's very good. And making tons of money. Plus Vegas is essentially Puck's dream town...women everywhere. Although," Quinn laughed, "He did call to tell me once that he needed to be careful in discerning whether one is _actually_ a women before attempting to seduce them."

"Oh gosh," Emma chuckled, straining her stitches. "Well, it sounds to me like you miss him. And it also sounds like, despite still being a ladies' man, Puck has done some growing up...gotten his act together. Isn't that what you always wanted from him?"

Quinn nodded, looking down. "What if he doesn't like the person I've become."

"Quinn," Emma said, stopping them on their slow walk. "I don't think that anyone could feel that way about you. You're still compassionate, beautiful...and now you're just even more ambitious than you were before to get what you want out of life, because you're so close to it. You're two months away from finishing undergrad. You've still got a ways to go with your education, but now you're really getting into what you want to do. I think Puck is going to be, if he already isn't, very satisfied with the choices you've made. I think after you graduate, you should see him."

The blonde blushed. "I was accepted into an internship at the biggest hospital in Vegas, for the summer. I think...I'm going to ask him if he's got an extra room available in his penthouse."

"I think he will," Emma grinned, eyes on the door to her room. "And I also think if I don't sit down I'm going to pass out."

* * *

><p>"Daddy!" Lily shrieked, running into his arms the moment he stepped into the door of the Guire home. "Daddy, don't ever leave again!"<p>

"Baby girl," He whispered into her ear, rocking her slowly. "I'm here now. You're okay."

"You were gone and Mommy went to the hospital, and I was so sad!"

"I bet you were, honey. Let's go home for a little while, okay? I need to talk to you about what happened. And then we'll spend some time getting you ready for the week."

Sarah took the moment to present Luke to Will. The little boy squealed in delight at the sight of his father's face, taking both hands and pressing his cheeks. "Yes, it's really me, little man." Will smiled and kissed his forehead, then took Lily's hand. "Thank you Sarah...I can't even—"

"Not a problem, at all," She said firmly, giving Will a gentle side hug. "Let me know what the plan is. We're here for you."

The Schuesters returned to their home, where Will sighed as he set Lily up on the couch, forcing her to look at him as he explained the situation. Luke curled into her side, resting his head in her lap. She let him, gently patting his curls. "I really appreciate you being a good big sister for Luke. Paul said you were playing with him all day yesterday. That means a lot to me, Lily." She blushed, internalizing the praise. "But let me tell you what happened, in the best way that I can. Yesterday, Mommy had baby Grace. Do you remember when she taught you how babies come out?"

"Yeah," Lily giggled.

Will cringed, never comfortable talking about the subject. "Do you remember her telling you where they come out?" Lily nodded firmly once, assuring she understood. "Well, baby Grace got...she, um...couldn't breathe, in side of Mommy. You know, like when you try to hold your breath under water?" The preschooler nodded again. "So, she couldn't breathe, and Mommy couldn't push her out fast enough. Instead, now, don't freak out...okay? But...they had to open up Mommy's belly to get her out."

The little girl gasped, "Daddy, no!"

"She's okay, Mommy is just fine. The doctors are very good at their job and they knew what they were doing. They just cut a line in her belly, and then they pulled Gracie out that way. But Gracie still wasn't breathing. And her heart wasn't beating."

"Like Grandma?" Lily questioned quietly, one eyebrow raised in confusion.

"No, no, Grace didn't die. She was very weak, and the doctors had to fix her heart to make it beat stronger, so she can breathe better."

"Daddy...what?" Lily tilted her head, rubbing Luke's arm as he squirmed against her.

Realizing most of what he was explaining was over her head, Will broke down the important part. "Well, Mommy has to stay in the hospital for a few days. Her tummy is back together, but she's very, very sore. You're not going to be able to climb on her or give her tight hugs for awhile. She'll be home in a few days. As for Grace...she is going to have to stay in the hospital. Probably for a long time. A few weeks, maybe even a few months."

"Can we bring her presents to cheer her up?" The innocent four-year-old wondered while twisting the fabric of her sweater around her finger.

Will gave a half shrug. "I don't know, yet. I don't think you're going to be able to see her for awhile, though, Lily. And I'm sure that's going to be upsetting for you, but it's for Grace to stay safe and healthy."

"Can me and Luke see Mommy?" She begged, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout and working the biggest, brownest eyes she could muster.

The father laughed for the first time since the fiasco started. "I tell you what, miss. I'm going to have to make some calls and get things lined up for later this week. If you can watch your brother and play with him nicely, I will bring you to see Mommy before bed tonight. But you've got to behave. Bad girls aren't allowed in the hospital."

"I'll be good, I promise!" She leapt from the sofa, turned around and dragged Luke down gently. "Me and Luke are going to play with some blocks." The baby rolled himself onto his belly, crawling towards his sister as she moved down the hall. "Come on, Luke!" He panted, letting out chirping noises as he moved, making Will glad he chose to spend time with his kids.

After calling his dad, principal Figgins, Emma's parents and Shannon to let everyone know of their situation and make arrangements for the start of the week, he sighed and contemplated taking a nap, but reconsidered knowing two of his children would likely demand his attention.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a soft tone as Lily helped Luke stack blocks into a pyramid. Each wooden cube was lined perfectly, with each row a separate color, its letter facing outwards. He pulled his son into his lap, and Lily gave a brief explanation to her choices in color. "Well, how would you feel about Grandpa spending the night here with you and Luke, instead of going to Sarah's tonight?" Lily nodded, looking down. Will pressed his lips together before asking, "What is it, baby?"

"I...I don't like this. I just want you and Mommy here. And Gracie to not be sick."

He rubbed her shoulder and sighed. "I know, I want those things too. But Mommy will be here soon enough, and Gracie is going to get better. And then we'll have two babies in the house. What do you think of that?" He asked with a raised brow. She didn't answer, and instead let out a big yawn and curled up into Will's side. "Are you tired, honey?"

"Yeah...Daddy, can we take a nap?"

Will smirked and nodded, hoping Luke would rest, too. He typically slept for an hour and a half in the mornings after Lily went to school, so he hoped that the chaotic Sunday was no exception. "We sure can. Do you want to put on something more comfy?"

"No," She shrugged, "I'm okay. I'll get my blankie and we can go to sleep!"

They moved to the master bedroom, with Will placing Luke on top of his chest before patting the spot next to him for Lily to take over. "When you wake up, you're going to have to go back to Sarah's. I'll be back again after dinner...I'll give you and Luke baths, and we'll go visit Mommy in your jammies. Then Grandpa will pick you up from the hospital and take you back here for bed. How do you feel about going to school tomorrow?"

Lily blinked and stuck her index and middle fingertips in her mouth, indicating she didn't want to discuss it.

"Honey, I'm not going to make you go, unless you want to. Grandpa isn't going to fight you to go. But, Sarah could take you. If you think you're going to cry, that's okay. It really is. She'll hold you and help you get in, and Mrs. Klark will understand you're having a hard time with Mommy gone. But if you think it's going to be too hard without Mommy, then you can stay home. I'm giving you the choice. It's a big girl choice, so I want you to think about it. You can decide tonight."

She pressed her face into his shoulder, shaking her head. "Daddy, nap time."

"Okay," He smiled, maneuvering awkwardly with Luke against him to pull a blanket over himself and his kids. "Sweet dreams, baby girl."

* * *

><p>Emma could not step away from Grace's incubator.<p>

She'd been staring at the baby for over an hour, frozen in both shock and depression. Will had stood with her for the first fifteen or so minutes, until she'd asked to be alone with her newborn daughter.

"Mommy loves you," She whispered over and over, in between choked sobs. "Mommy loves you."

He returned to place a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Em," He said softly, only to have her shrug it off. Her head bent lower and Will pressed his lips together, unsure of what he could do or say to help. "Honey, come on. No need to continue upsetting yourself."

She twisted her neck violently, shooting him a glare. "Will. This is our daughter," She hissed through a fog of tears. "I can't just _leave her_. I love her so much, and I feel terrible...And I just want to...want to..."

He rubbed her back, prompting her to let out her frustrations. "Want to what?"

"...Touch her!" She cried, turning into his chest. "I just want to hold her little hand. And kiss her cheeks and...be able to cradle her in my arms and feed her. This is so unfair, for us and her! She's so sick, Will, and I just...I can't handle it!"

"I know, I know...I want all of those things, too...but, let's go talk about it, okay? We don't want her recognizing our voices as upset and out of control. Let's get you something to eat, and probably another dose of pain medication. We can come back later. And we'll ask if we're allowed to take pictures, so we have something to show Lily."

Emma shook her head, placing her hands back on top of the plastic box. "No, no. Absolutely not. I do not want Lily seeing her baby sister like this."

"I think if we show her how she is now, she'll have something to compare it to when Grace gets better—"

"No, no...She's going to be terrified. I'm terrified to see my daughter in this state," She whispered, shaking her greasy hair and licking her lips. "No, Lily doesn't need to see her sister like this." Sighing heavily, Emma moved her face closer to the lid. "Baby Grace, Mommy's going, just for a little bit, alright? I will be back to see you very, very soon. I promise, honey. Mommy loves you."

Will guided her out of the NICU, where they removed the sanitary scrubs before making the trek back to Emma's room. "Do you want me to go pick you up some food, Em?" He questioned as she sat down with a pained expression. "I can't imagine the Sunday afternoon hospital cafeteria is exactly delicious."

After arguing back and forth over whether or not Emma needed food, a doctor came in to make the recommendation that she eat. Once they were full, Emma decided she needed rest before trekking back to the NICU. After convincing her husband she wouldn't sneak down alone, she watched with a heavy sigh as Will left to take care of their kids.

* * *

><p>Emma was home on Tuesday night, greeting her healthy children with teary hugs. Yet as Wednesday morning arrived, Lily's mood had gone completely sour after being abandoned to the neighbors and her grandfather for three days, and her attitude was too much for the still-recovering mother to handle.<p>

"Lily Ann!" She yelled after the four-year-old had thrown a plastic bowl of dry cereal onto the floor as she fought breakfast. Her tone startled the girl, causing her screeching to halt and eyes to widen and water. "You do not throw food. Pick it up, now."

Lily cried as she climbed down from the island stool, shuffling slowly across the floor to pick up the mess she'd made, throwing the cereal into the garbage and placing the bowl in the sink before looking up at her mother sheepishly. Emma placed a handful of Cheerios on Luke's highchair seat before getting a touch nasty with the preschooler. "Go get dressed, now."

She continued to cry as she made her way to her bedroom, pulling out a mismatched set of leggings and a top before returning to the kitchen, where Emma instructed her to put on shoes. "Where we going?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

Emma pulled on a coat and secured Luke into his car seat, knowing she shouldn't be lifting his weight but having no choice as she demanded, "Put your coat on."

"Mommy!" Lily screamed, frustrated, "Where we going?"

The mother of three placed Luke's carrier in the hall before wrestling Lily's thrashing frame into a jacket and instructing her to go to the car, where she walked begrudgingly, still screaming.

Emma buckled both children in and drove as calmly as she could, fully aware she was making a public appearance in nothing but yoga pants and a zip-up four days after having a C-section.

As they pulled into the circle-drive of the elementary school, Lily began screeching and kicking her legs up in the air. Emma ignored her behavior, sneaking Luke out of his car seat first and propping him up on her hip before unclipping Lily's buckle and lifting her up with one hand curled under her armpits, guiding the four-year-old to stand before kicking the Chevy door closed and all but dragging her into the building.

School had just begun and Emma huffed a great sigh as she made the short trek to Lily's wing, where the girl screamed as loud and hard as she could, pulling with as much force as possible to be set free of her mother's hold.

Thankfully her cries had warranted the attention of not only Mrs. Klark, but the school psychologist who had been in the classroom. "Mrs. Schuester!" The teacher called, running to remove the thrashing and out of control child from her side. "You just had a baby! What are you—"

"I can't do it, I can't take her, I need to get away—" She said as a muffled cry, hiding her face near Luke's. "I can't handle her right now and this seemed like the best place for her."

Mrs. Klark nodded and took Lily into the classroom, dispensing her to an aid to return and have a conversation with the distressed mother. "How is Gracie?"

Emma sighed, wiping her eyes and rubbing a hand over her still-sore stomach. "She's hanging in there. I was just about to find somewhere to take Luke so I could go see her...She's so fragile and...I haven't gotten to hold her yet...and," She took a shaking breath before continuing, "She's going to need a second surgery on her heart in a month. They think that will fully correct the problem."

Mrs. Riley placed a comforting hand on the counselor's shoulder. "Mrs. Schuester, I'm so sorry to hear all that...it's the last thing your family needs. We're all thinking about you...tell you what, I can keep Lily in my office for the afternoon, if you'd like. I have a few appointments, but I can cancel them. I know you're going through a rough time. You need to see your new baby, and you need to _rest_. You've just had major surgery."

"I know," Emma mumbled, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead against Luke's as the boy held onto her cheeks. "I would appreciate you taking her. More than I can say."

"Alright," The woman said and smiled gently. "I'll have a conversation with her about this situation and see what she and I can come up with to help her behavior over the next few weeks. Give me a call when you or Will can pick her up."

Emma said her thanks and walked to the exit, where she was met by her neighbor, who was waiting with another sympathetic smile. "Hey, hon. I heard Lily coming in — you could have called me, I'd have come gotten her—"

"It was so spur of the moment I didn't even have time to think," The redhead confessed, leaning into a supportive hug. "I'm going to call Will's dad to take Luke...will you come to the hospital with me?"

"Of course," Sarah sighed and the two of them made their way to the Schuester house until the patriarch of the family arrived, taking charge of his only grandson's care.

"My sister is coming tomorrow," Emma said, wiping at her eyes as they prepared to scrub up before entering the NICU. "She's going to stay for a week, then Leah, Kevin's wife, is coming for a week, and then my mom for as long as I want her to stay. They apparently had some sort of family meeting last night and don't want me alone with the kids...and, while I appreciate the effort, they're probably just going to be a lot more trouble than help. They never know what to do with Lily — I don't know what to do with Lily most of the time." She rubbed her temples, sniffing. "I just need to wake up from this nightmare."

Sarah understood, taking Emma's gloved hand as they entered the NICU after a nurse, being led to Grace's incubator.

Emma choked up at the sight of her youngest, but didn't let it stop her from showering the baby with as much affection as she could through the plastic walls. A nurse allowed her all the time she needed before updating her on the baby's condition. Not much had changed since her late night visit with Will after her kids had fallen asleep and his father had come over for a few hours — but her color seemed a bit brighter than Emma remembered.

The next few days were a blur as Annie arrived and Lily's behavior continued to grow out of control. Friday afternoon, after a long conversation with Mrs. Riley, Mrs. Klark and Will, Emma took her daughter to the doctor for a low-dose SSRI to manage her symptoms until they could get her life's circumstances under control. As the four-year-old terrorized the examination room, the pediatrician had no problem prescribing the medication.

On the drive home, Emma finally lost control with her daughter who thrashed and screamed at the top of her lungs in her car seat. Pulling over, Emma climbed into the back of the car and forcefully — though not roughly — took Lily's arms into her hands and forced her beating red face into her own. "Lily. Ann. You have made Mommy SO upset. You need to stop this behavior and stop it NOW." As Emma yelled, Lily's screaming turned into tears. "Your body is out of control and Mommy can't deal with you. Mommy doesn't even want to be around you. Do you understand that? You are so out of control I can't even be around you without being upset."

Lily cried and Emma let up her arms, but did not stop speaking in her face. "You are making Mommy cry," She said as tears fell from her face. "I do not like talking to you like this, and I do not like being mad at you. But I am. Mommy is very sad because your sister is so sick. My tummy is still sore, and you are acting so bad."

She knew speaking to Lily this way was far from helpful, but she wanted some part of the four-year-old to comprehend just how truly angry Emma was. "Do you understand what I am saying to you? I am very mad at you, Lily. Very mad."

"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry!" The four-year-old screamed, shaking. "I'm sorry, Mommy!"

"You should be sorry," Emma huffed, finally leaning back as she got some sort of response from the girl, who reached up for Emma. "You should be very sorry for not calming your body down and listening to Mommy and Daddy and Sarah and Mrs. Klark and Mrs. Riley. We have all been trying to help you, and you haven't been letting us help you."

"I want to be good," Lily shrieked. "I want to be good, Mommy! I'll be good!"

Emma brushed the messy hair out of her daughter's sticky face before kissing her forehead. "I'm sure you do want to be good, Lily. And you're going to have lots of chances to try that this week. Mommy got you some medicine that is going to help you be good. But it's only going to help, baby. It's not going to fix everything. You are going to have to control your body and listen to us when we talk to you."

"Okay," Lily sniffled. "Okay. Mommy. I will."

Smiling as much as she could in her state, Emma squatted in front of the car seat in what little space she had and held Lily's legs. "Please, baby, just try. Try your best. I still love you, so very much. I just don't like your behavior." She paused to press a kiss to the four-year-old's forehead before taking a deep breath. "When I get home, I am going to take a long rest. If you would like to join me, you are welcome to."

As they made their way to the pharmacy to pick up Lily's prescription, Emma spoke calmly to her daughter, trying to be patient as the four-year-old began asking questions about her little sister.

"When's Gracie comin' to live with us?"

The mother sighed, shaking her head as she drove, "I don't know. Probably not for quite awhile, though. She's very sick."

"Does she have red hair like mine?"

Emma pressed her lips together. "I can't really tell yet. She doesn't have much hair."

"When's she gonna have some?"

"When she's bigger."

"Does she drink the milk from your boobies like Lukie did?"

Emma giggled a little, "No, not yet. She's not big enough. And remember, we can't even hold her yet. She gets her food through a little tube that goes up her nose and into her stomach. You had one when you were born, too. I'll show you a picture when we get home."

"How does she drink?"

They arrived at the pharmacy, where Emma assisted Lily in getting out of the vehicle. "She doesn't have to drink. She has something called an IV; which is a needle in her arm. It has a tube that drips water into her body."

Lily clutched her mother's hand, behaving surprisingly well as they waited for the prescription to be filled. "When Gracie comes home, will she sleep in your room?"

Emma nodded and pulled her daughter into her lap, playing with her wild curls. "For awhile, until she's bigger. Then she and Luke are going to share a room since they're both babies."

"Is Daddy going to—"

"Lily Schuester?" The pharmacist called, earning a thankful sigh from Emma as she moved them to make the copay on the medication and Lily patiently rocked back and forth on her toes, sneaking a peak at the bag.

"Do I have to take medicine every day?"

"Oh yes," Emma responded, signing a form before taking her daughter's hand to leave. "A few times a day. But it's going to be really helpful for you." She sighed, praying her own words would come true.

* * *

><p>A month passed by quicker than any other Emma could remember. Luke started walking and Lily's meltdowns were significantly lessened by the medication. Grace was gaining weight; slowly but steadily. Emma's mother had moved in for the foreseeable future, finding a balance of support for her daughter's family. Linda was helpful, and after the second week, not overbearingly so; and her assistance was much appreciated by both Emma and Will. Will had rearranged his schedule to keep Glee in his life — but mostly for their checkbook. The couple visited their youngest child every day, and seemed to find some sort of routine to fall into.<p>

"Dada?" Luke questioned as Will poured baby puffs onto his high chair tray one Saturday morning in late March.

The Spanish teacher beamed at his son, ruffling his curly brown locks. "Would you look at you? How are you almost a year old already, hm? Stop growin' up!"

Lily dragged herself into the kitchen, pouting and whining as she grabbed onto Will's belt loop, moaning, "Daddy, I don't want to do anything!"

He picked her up, raising an eyebrow. "What's got you all grumpy, hm?" One of the side-effects of Lily's SSRI was the need to sleep more often, and despite a schedule that allowed for plenty of naps, she never did wake up in a well-rested sort of mood.

"I just want to go back to sleep!" She cried, tearing up and turning her head into his neck. Will rocked her back and forth, whispering into her ear in attempt to soothe her.

Emma wandered into the room, a complete zombie from lack of sleep and an abundance of worry. "Lily please don't start crying so early," She groaned, moving robot-like as she made a quick breakfast, toasting three slices of bread and scooping an equal number of bowls of fruit. "Nana is going for her morning walk in a little bit. If you get dressed after you eat, you'll be able to join her."

At this, Lily seemed to perk up, eager to get outside. Sure enough, Linda was ready to go as soon as the four-year-old was dressed, and offered to take Luke in a stroller to give the parents some time alone. Having no objections to this, Emma dressed the baby snuggly before passing her kids out the door.

Will gave a great sigh as they left, pulling his wife close to him. "Let's go cuddle," She suggested, curling into him. Will pressed a warm kiss to her temple, circling his arms around her in a quick squeeze before leading them to the bedroom. Their bed was still unmade and neither cared as they curled up beneath the comforter, Will on his back and Emma placing her head on his chest, rubbing the cotton of his t-shirt between her fingers. He hummed lightly, stroking her hair as he felt her body relax against his.

"I can't believe Gracie is having a second surgery on Monday," Will murmured. "Baby girl is only six weeks old and already stronger than either of us combined."

"Maybe we'll have one resilient little girl," Emma commented, snuggling deeper into him as he squeezed her close. "I wish she were here with us."

Will kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back, earning a groan. "I wish the same...Maybe, in a few months...we'll have all three of our kids...Our slowly-but-surely-maturing five-year-old girl, our big one-year-old boy, and our tiny newborn...all of them in here with us."

He felt Emma smile against him, curling her fingers up and into his hair. "All my babies," She sighed. "I love them all, so, so much."

"I love them all, too." He nestled his chin atop her head. "Oh, Emma...I've missed you, too, though. It's been awhile since we've had five minutes to ourselves."

She slid a hand up his shirt, kissing his neck. "Would you like to take full advantage of them?" She muttered, sucking his pulse point and making him groan as his hold on her grew tighter. He pulled her face to his, clashing their lips together as she pushed up against him, wiggling her hips against his.

"Wait," Will groaned, pulling back, "Do we have protection? 'Cause as much as I love our babies, I don't think we can afford any more."

Emma sat up, pouting as she reached into the nightstand drawer on the left of the bed, moving items around and whining as she found nothing that would assist them. She rounded the room, searching all possible drawers before checking the bathroom with a frustrated, joking yell. "We're just going to have to get creative."

He stood, closing their door and locking it before lifting Emma, who wrapped her legs around his hips, crashing their faces together. Will moaned into her mouth, nipping at her bottom lip before his tongue slipped into Emma's mouth. "Em," He sighed as she gripped his hair, tugging the curls.

She ground herself into him, rocking herself back and forth, starting to lose all self-control. Emma groaned and pushed him backwards, encouraging him towards the bed. He fell backwards, taking her with him. She pushed herself onto her knees, grinding onto him, panting in need. She pulled on the drawstring of his pants, smirking up at him and kissing his adam's apple.

Will rubbed a hand along her spine as her hand found its way down his boxers, earning a low rumble from his throat. "Emma," He breathed her name, tugging her curls. He pulled her tank top over her head, curling his fingers around her hair.

She bent down for a long kiss before shuffling out of her pajama pants and pulling her husband's down. They joined together moments later, sighing in unison as Will filled Emma, bringing them to the place they could only share at times like these. A tear dribbled down Emma's cheek, which Will brushed away with his thumb before kissing her lips again and she began rocking against him.

Their time together was short, as both had been stifled for one another's touch for far too long — and as Emma collapsed against Will, breathing heavily as he kissed her hairline and fluttered his fingertips along her spine.

They heard the garage door open and gave a mutual groan, followed by a shared laugh as Emma pushed herself up to glance at the clock; surprised her mother had managed to keep her holy terror children entertained for an hour. "Guess one of us should get in the shower," She spoke, yawning.

"You go," Will encouraged her, kissing her temple before rolling them up and tugging his pants back on. "Take all the time you want. I'll handle the monsters."

She pecked his lips before turning to the bathroom, not bothering to throw clothes on to take ten minutes to scrub shower down — in the craziness of the situation she'd been thrown into, chores she'd at one time in her life completed twice daily were being neglected for weeks. Emma knew that was a normal component of motherhood, but as the early signs of mildew appeared along the tiles, she wasn't prepared for an infestation. Once she finally stepped into the shower for herself, she took a little longer than necessary; allowing the steaming water to beat on her back and neck before getting out to spend time with her children.

* * *

><p>Three weeks after a successful heart surgery, Emma brought Lily to see Grace. The newborn was still in too fragile of a condition to be moved, but the doctors were willing to give her a private room for a few hours so her big sister could get acquainted.<p>

Lily was more than excited about not having to go to school on the Thursday morning before Luke's first birthday, though Emma was still concerned the state of her infant sister would be traumatizing.

"Remember, sweetheart," Emma sighed, pulling a surgical cap over Lily's hair, "She doesn't look like what your baby dolls look like. She's still very sick."

"I know, Mommy," Lily responded, fiddling with the mask over her face as Emma tied one around her own. With a deep breath, she took her daughter's gloved hand into her own and allowed a nurse to escort them into the room.

Emma's heart was always filled with a combination of joy and sorrow at the sight of her newborn. The seven-week-old baby was finally starting to look like what a typical infant would; her color was peachy and weight increasing, though with the monitors and wires that surrounded her little body, it wasn't difficult to forget what sort of fight the child was constantly going through. Though, as the doctor had mentioned earlier in the day — Grace's efforts were paying off, as by the next week, they were hoping to move her to the lower unit of NICU which required less intensive care; and hopefully the opportunity to be held by her mother and father.

The mother cooed as she approached the incubator where Grace was lying unusually awake, her dark, beady eyes starting straight up at her. "Oh, baby Grace, good morning!" She spoke softly, reaching a finger into the hole in the bed for the infant to grasp. "Mommy has missed you so much, cutie pie."

Grace yawned and twitched a bit, continuing to stare. "Did you have a good night, hm? Nurse Courtney said you slept without a fuss at all."

Lily stood a bit behind Emma, observing the conversation and trying to get a feel for what emotions she was supposed to be displaying. She couldn't get a very good view of her sister, but the equipment in the room had her on edge. "Mommy?" She mumbled, burrowing her face into the yellow scrubs Emma had on. The mother turned to face her four-year-old, squatting at her level and wrapping an arm around her.

"Come here, Lily," She said quietly, scooting the girl closer to the incubator so that Lily could finally get a good view. "This is baby Grace."

She let the sisters get acquainted, with the youngest staring straight at Lily's face. Emma knew her eyes were underdeveloped, but hoped the baby would be able to get a good impression of her sister. There was a still silence in the room, save for Grace's beeping monitors, until some five minutes later, when Lily began sniffing. "Mommy, I don't want Gracie to be sick."

"Oh," Emma sighed, hugging her biggest girl close to her. "Don't I know it. I want her to be healthy, too. But she's doing so much better, you know that? So much better than when she was born."

Lily wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of the oversized scrubs. "Do you think she wants me to tell her a story?"

Emma rubbed Lily's back with a wide smile, "I bet she'd love that." Turning to pull a chair up to the incubator, she sat down, placing Lily in her lap as the older child began telling the younger tales from the movies she frequently watched.

A nurse willingly took a few pictures for the mother to send to Will later, as Lily continued to fawn over the infant. Emma was astonished at her eldest child's behavior — curious if her medication was working on overdrive, or if the girl was genuinely interested in her newest sibling.

"When she comes home, can we put some of my old pretty dresses on her?"

Emma smiled and nodded. "We sure can. And when she's bigger she can play all kinds of fun games with you. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically, smiling widely. "I like my sister."

"I'm so happy to hear that, sweetheart. That makes Mommy so proud. Thank you for coming with me today."

"Can we print the pictures off to show Rianne and Scottie?"

Emma kissed her temple, knowing she had to leave soon so Grace could return to the NICU. "We sure can."

* * *

><p>The following afternoon, Emma dropped a squirmy and excited Lily off at Rianne's home, where she would be having her first sleepover with her little friend, who was bouncing at the door when they arrived. The little girl's mother greeted Emma with a sympathetic expression at her look of exhaustion. "How was the first sisterly interaction?" Noel asked, inviting the Schuester girls into her home.<p>

The little girls ran up the carpeted stairs into Rianne's room, leaving the mothers to talk. "Really, really good." Emma sighed as Noel pulled out a chair for her. "And it's been really helpful having my mom around the house — built-in babysitter sort of deal. It's almost enough to have me wish my parents lived closer...but then she starts talking, and well—" Both women laughed at the comment, Noel understanding the tension between family members. The two women continued talking until Rianne came dashing down the stairs, tugging at Noel's shirt and pointing at the fridge.

"Are you thirsty, pumpkin?" The little girl nodded, her dark hair falling in front of her eyes as Noel poured half-juice and half-water into two cups with lids, telling Rianne to be careful as she took the beverages upstairs. Noel sighed, asking, "This is...a little weird, but would you mind if I put a tape recorder in with them today?" Emma shrugged, nodding that she didn't mind. "The other day, when I was picking up Rianne, I saw the two of them huddled in a corner of the room with a book. I don't know that I saw it for sure, but I swear, I swear I saw Rianne talking to Lily. Mrs. Klark said they're always huddled up like that, but she's never heard her...but, I think that Rianne talks to Lily. I really do...and I want to find out if she does."

Emma took a big breath and nodded again, "I've thought that too, actually. From the way Lily talks about her, it only makes sense that she communicates at least some verbal information to her...but...what are you going to do if you find out that Rianne does talk?"

Noel shrugged, smirking. "Celebrate the fact that she's opened up to someone and hope she can trust me enough to do the same, hopefully sooner than later."

The mothers parted ways, Emma giving specific instructions on Lily's medication and imploring Noel to call if there were any difficulties with the four-year-old.

Emma took a breath of fresh air as she exited the house, heading home for her and Will's quiet celebration of Luke's first birthday. There wasn't much exciting they could do for the one-year-old, save for spend an entire evening doting on him and giving him their undivided attention. Emma's father had flown in the night before to spend some quality time with his wife, who he hadn't seen in a month. They had spent the morning with their youngest grandson, and though Emma knew that Ed and Linda had plans shortly, she didn't think they'd mind her stopping for half an hour to greet her youngest daughter.

She slid into the NICU with a little laugh as she discovered her husband had a similar idea and was hovering over Grace's incubator, singing softly to the baby. He looked up to find his wife, and stretched out a hand to draw her close as he continued singing, "_When the evening shadows and the stars appear...and there's no one there to dry your tears, I could hold you for a million years, to make you feel my love_." He pressed a kiss to Emma's cheek as Grace curled a tiny hand around Will's finger. "I see you couldn't stay away from our baby either," He teased. "I cancelled Glee; I wasn't in the mood to sing with teenagers when I could be singing to my baby girl."

Emma rubbed a thumb over his knuckles. "Make sure you don't call Gracie your 'baby girl' when Lily is around. Just because she's excited to have a sister doesn't mean she's not going to be upset by you taking her title away."

Will nodded, mentally tucking the information away as they continued devoting attention to their baby, excited for her next full exam on Monday that would decide if she could be moved to the lesser intensive care unit. "Maybe Monday afternoon we can hold you, cutie pie," Emma said as she stroked the girl's fingers.

"We can only hope," Will agreed, standing up. "We should probably go give our one-year-old the attention he deserves for his birthday," He stated, taking his wife's hand as she whispered a good-bye to their child.

They arrived home, one after another, greeting their birthday boy with hugs that he waddled into, laughing and smiling. Emma shed a single tear at the memory of holding him the moment he was born, slimy and all — the only one of her babies she'd been able to dote on right away. She snuggled him close as she and Will worked on dinner. "We don't get to spend enough time with just you, do we baby boy?" Kissing the top of his head, she smiled brightly as Will sauteed their vegetables. "But we're going to have a bunch of fun tonight! We're going to eat some dinner and have a little baby cake for you, and then, Mommy and Daddy have a surprise downstairs for you!" Luke squealed and cuddled his face into Emma's neck, his little brown curls tickling her neck. "That's my good boy."

Will took his son as Emma finished before the three sat down at the table, Emma helping her son make the real food from his tray to his mouth, laughing as he made a little mess. "Can you imagine if he was our only kid?" Will teased, shaking his head.

Emma gave him a look before sighing in agreement. "We'd probably still have half of our sanity still in tact."

They carried on with dinner, finishing before cleaning up and sitting on the living room floor, helping Luke open a few gifts from them — a riding tractor for the upcoming summer months that they let him scoot around on the floor with, a stuffed puppy of his own so he'd stop taking Lily's and causing her to grow angry with him, and new megablocks to add to the small collection they'd started. He clapped and giggled — though he didn't really know what was going on. They had a small cake that Emma had made the night before, letting him dig in with his little hands and make a mess all over himself. Emma washed him up and dressed him in warm pajamas before joining Will in the basement with a final surprise — an indoor play gym with a little slide and play area at the top. Luke squealed as Will slid him down the plastic, giggling and laughing as he fell forward into his father's arms. Emma put on some music, making the baby babble along with the lyrics. Emma took pictures of her husband and son, so at peace with the moment of joy that radiated from their home.

As the boy's eyelids began to drop, Emma and Will got themselves ready for bed too, opting to snuggle their son to sleep without a whining four-year-old to join them. Luke snuggled into Will's chest as he laid back against the pillows, rubbing his boy's back as he dozed off almost immediately. "How come your sisters can't be as low maintenance as you, hm?" Emma sighed, agreeing with the questing, curling up at her husband's side as well.

The next morning, Will picked Lily up from Rianne's, greeted by the girl's father Ray, who was in a state of happiness as he explained, "We heard her. She talks, to Lily. Not a lot, but...she does, and it's so huge for us and—"

Will smiled, clapping the man's shoulder as he invited him in. "I'm so glad to hear that! That's so great. I hope you get some progress out of it!"

"She was very...cryptic sounding, but she's talking! We're going to talk to her teachers on Monday to see what we should do with the information...don't want to scare the poor kid."

"I understand...where are they at?"

"Oh, in Rianne's room, upstairs, I'll take you..." The tall, dark haired man walked them up the stairs, opening the first room on the left, which was painted yellow with a pale green boarder around the top and white shelves lined with various objects that Rianne had placed some sort of importance on. "Hey, peanut," Ray smiled, spotting the girls under a tent they'd created on Rianne's bed, "Lily, your Daddy's here!"

Lily whined, "Do I have to go, Daddy?"

"Yeah, baby girl. We do. I know you had a lot of fun with Rianne, but you can come over again soon, okay? But today, Daddy's got to get you home so you can get going. Nana and Grandpa are taking you and Lukie for the week, remember? You get to go to Virginia! And you'll get to see Natalie, Kendal and Jojo!"

Lily bit her lip — she was excited about a week with her grandparents and cousins, but nervous to be away from her parents, too. They were nervous as well; unsure how well Lily would hold up for a week away. "I want to see Natalie," She said quietly, fiddling with the ruffles on her dress. "I just don't want to go without you." Rianne stood closer to her little friend, sliding her hand into hers and meeting her eyes, nodding. "I know," Lily said quietly. "I'll be okay."

Will picked up Lily's bag and took her hand. "You will be, baby girl. I know it. Now let's get going so you can help Mommy pick out your clothes for the week."

They descended the stairs and prepared to leave, Will thanking Ray for taking his needy daughter for the night and Rianne hugging her friend tightly. When they arrived home, as promised, Emma let Lily help pick out her clothes for the week away. She was beyond apprehensive about sending her mentally ill daughter away for a week, but excited for time alone with Will and the opportunity to spend as many hours with Grace as possible.

They loaded Linda's SUV with the kid's items before buckling the kids in with plenty of entertainment for the ten hour drive. Emma sighed, giving plenty of hugs and kisses before watching them drive off.

Will wound an arm around her shoulder, encouraging her inside with a mischievous smile, whispering, "I got some supplies before I picked up Lily, so we should have an exciting week."

* * *

><p>Monday morning, Emma watched as several of Grace's wires were removed and she was carefully transferred to the lower portion of the NICU. She nearly began to cry when a doctor told her she could hold the baby, but took a moment to step into the hall to call Will, sharing the news with him; not wanting to hold their daughter without him there.<p>

"Sweetie, go ahead. I'll hold her when I get there later — go on. She hasn't been held for long enough. Spend some quality time with our little girl — but I want a picture!"

Emma laughed into a cry, agreeing that Grace was in desperate need of her parent's love. She moved herself back into the NICU, sitting in a gliding chair next to Grace's incubator, where she waited for a nurse to help the baby out. She could barely sit still as the baby was placed in her arms, her little vocal cords producing grunts and whines as she was moved for the first time into her mother's arms. Emma let out a small cry of happiness as she held the tiny baby close and a nurse snapped pictures on Emma's phone. "Oh, baby Grace," She sighed, rubbing her baby's back gently as she snuggled deep into Emma's chest, her mouth parting as she whined in attempt to regulate what she was feeling as the new sensations of skin and fabric met her bare skin.

"Hey, sweetheart...It's your Mommy," She smiled, kissing the baby's cheek. "It's Mommy, and I'm so happy to finally hold you, honey." The baby didn't respond to the noise, but curled her tiny firsts into Emma's shirt. "Daddy is so excited to come and hold you. He's working right now, at school — remember, he's teaching Spanish. He'll be here after school, though. He's going to snuggle you right up and sing to you, I bet. Your big sissy and brother are in Virginia with your Nana and Grandpa. They're having lots of fun. Lily has only cried a handful of times, too. I told you, she's got some problems, but Mommy and Daddy decided we'd give her some medicine and she's doing so much better on it. We were only going to keep her on it while you are here but now...well, we'll figure that out when we get to it..."

Emma continued rambling, humming and cuddling with her daughter. Taking a break only long enough to give her gurgling stomach fuel. She hardly noticed the day fly by around her, surprised when Will stepped in at quarter to four, his face light up brightly at the sight of her snuggling their tiny infant. He crouched at the rocking chair, kissing his wife and daughter before Emma switched places with him, taking pictures as he held their daughter for the first time, her bitty body trying to adjust to the feel of a new person. She fussed a bit in attempt to get comfy, finally settling on a good position on her side.

The parents crooned over their little girl, telling stories, whispering secrets and singing lullabies as she lay against their chests until the NICU staff needed them to leave.

Hand in hand, the parents made their way back to their home, where they spent their week rediscovering one another. The time they had truly alone was precious, and they didn't know when they'd have it again. Every touch was magical and sacred, and every kiss was savored and stored for times when both Will and Emma knew they'd need a reminder of how much they really loved one another in the troubling, upcoming months.

* * *

><p>...Oh hi!<p>

If you're still reading this; I'd like to present you with the award for putting up with the most bullshit from an author! ...I'm sorry, guys. But I really appreciate all the nice emails and messages I've gotten — especially over the past few weeks! I don't know what the influx was from; but they pulled me out of my funk for writing this story and really encouraged me to get working on it — and why not write twenty pages of fanfiction instead of twenty page thesis papers?

Maybe it won't be seven months before I update again — but I don't want to make promises I can't keep ;) I haven't watched Glee since the third episode of this season, so I apologize for the horrifying characterization — it's been awhile since I've seen Will and Emma in action...speaking of action — somebody please tell me they've done the nasty by now!

Alright, enough rambling. Thanks for sticking with it!


	9. Chapter 9

author's notes:

I: This is the conclusion to the Beautiful trilogy. It's not the end of the series I'm sure readers were expecting, but it is an ending that provides closure; rather than just leaving the series "in-progress" until the website shuts down (the real apocalypse).

II: Inspiration for this epilogue stemmed from the recent discussion on mental health in the United States, Abby Lee Miller/_Dance Moms_/_Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition_, Disney's_ Wreck-it-Ralph_, and the wise words of Rupaul, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" Also, this song from the new PINK album...

_Just give me a reason,  
>Just a little bit's enough.<br>Just a second we're not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again.  
>It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts,<br>We're not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again.  
>-Just Give Me a Reason, PINK &amp; Nathan Russ (fun.)<em>

* * *

><p><em>Epilogue<br>Ten Years Later_

Emma took her oldest daughter, gently pulling the aggravated girl down to meet her eyes. "Honey, it's not going to be forever. Dad and I just need some time apart. This isn't a divorce. It's called separation and a lot of couples do it. It's not going on a break, or time for us to see other people. It's for us to reflect on our marriage and try to calm down before we make decisions we regret. We will be going to marriage counseling twice a week. And on Wednesday nights, all of us, including you, Luke and Grace, are going to family counseling. It's going to be good for us, you'll see."

Lily ripped her arm away from Emma, her lower lip trembling. "Well I'm glad I found out through my dance teacher. Thank you for including me in these big decisions."

Emma once again grabbed her daughter, forcing her to sit. "This decision was not about you," She said sternly, standing to hover in an authoritarian stance. "This has nothing to do with your sister's hearing, your brother's hyperactivity, or your bipolar disorder," She whispered the last part, kneeling to place her hands against Lily's shoulders to make her point. "This is because your father and I can't stop arguing and we need to find a way to stop that without affecting you kids. Do you understand that? I'm sorry that Holly spilled the beans. I had been talking about the decision with her and Sarah last night when we came to pick you and Scott up from hip-hop. I just needed to talk it out with some adults. I guess I didn't specify that we hadn't told you yet, and I'm sorry, honey."

Lily let a single tear fall before wiggling her way around her mother. "I have ballet." She aggressively laced her point shoes, sniffing as she did so before standing to her full height of four foot-ten, where she'd peaked at the end of her Sophomore year of high school the year previous. "I'll have Holly drop me off tonight. Don't wait up."

"Excuse me," Emma shook her head, stepping in the way of the dancer. "We're not finished with the conversation. We don't walk away angry, remember?"

Lily's eyes grew wild as she began pacing in front of the private practice room of the dance studio she was about to enter. "You don't...you! Mom, go away! I don't need this, I have competition in two weeks I cannot have you stressing me out right now,_ go away_!"

"I'm only going away if you go with me," Emma made perfectly clear, her large brown eyes widening. "You can talk with me right here or we can go home right now."

Lily stamped her foot, the dramatic flair taken away by the soft sole of her ballet slipper. "No!"

The older redhead sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, if you're going to act like a child, I'll treat you like one." With a firm grip, Emma steered Lily down the hallway, grabbing the girl's dance bag off a bench along with her purse as Lily began carrying on in tears, yelling nonsense as they passed the font desk, where Emma threw a look of apology to Holly Holiday, the instructor and owner of the dance studio. "We'll see you tomorrow," She mumbled as Lily refused to get in the car until Emma opened the backseat, tossed both bags in and lifted the light girl by her waist to get her in. Lily screamed at the top of her lungs, eventually throwing herself across the back seat as Emma remained calm enough to drive the short way home.

After pulling into the driveway of the house they'd always been in as a family, Lily sniffed up her tears and untied her ballet shoes, swapping them out for the flats in her dance bag before sitting up to meet her mother's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Are you quite finished?" Emma asked quietly, earning a nod from the fifteen-year-old. "Good, let's go inside and talk to your brother and sister."

Emma led Lily inside, a firm hand against her shoulder. Luke popped his head into the doorway from his bedroom, a questioning glance on his face. "Did the end of the world just happen? 'Cause it looks like Lily's skipping a dance class."

"Shut up!" Lily snapped, earning a squeeze from her mother.

Grace poked her own face into the hall from the room she shared with Lily. "Wa'sh goin' on?"

Emma signed quickly as she verbally instructed her son to have a seat on the sofa, where Lily also found herself as her siblings arrived.

Grace was nearly a full head shorter than her sister, as she curled up next to the miserable girl. Emma stood in front of them all while Luke made himself comfortable, purposefully elbowing Lily in the side and earning a harsh glare. "While I was going to tell you kids tonight, um...Lily accidentally found out at dance and was quite upset by it, so I guess now would be the best time."

She took a great sigh and sat down on the coffee table as she re-explained the situation, using signs when Grace was having difficulty processing some of the language. Luke seemed to take it best as he clarified, "So...Dad's staying with Gramps?"

"Yes, he'll be across town for the next few months."

Nodding, the curly, sandy haired boy shrugged an understanding. "Do we get to visit both of you?"

Emma took a deep breath as she explained, "That's up to you. We want this to be your choice. Dad and I discussed it and we want you to stay wherever you'd like to. If you want to stay in your room here with me during the week and with Gramps and Dad on the weekend, that's fine. Or the other way around — it's all up to what you think will make you happiest and the most comfortable."

"I'd be the most comfortable if you weren't doing this at all," Lily said firmly with a hard glare in her mother's direction as she stood up from the sofa and marched herself to her room slamming the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Grace cautiously stepped into the bedroom she shared with her big sister, letting the door close a little louder than necessary to alert the older girl of her presence. As she expected, Lily was sitting cross-legged on the floor, notecards for a science class placed in neat piles as she mumbled answers to herself. "Li?" She questioned, daring to sit next to her. "Where you gon' stay? Ma or Da?"<p>

Lily looked up from her studying, giving her sister a sad smile, thankful she was choosing to use speech for the time being so Lily wouldn't have to struggle through signing her frustration. "Here. This is my room. All my things are the way I like them. I have no intention of uprooting my entire life pattern to spend equal time with each one of our parents. If Dad will want to see me, he'll have to pick me up from dance or greet me at school."

Grace nodded, her hands fidgeting with the black magnetic device above her ear. "I want be with you."

The older sister nodded, gently moving the notecards to their plastic container before pulling her sister into her lap for a long hug.

"Wanna go for walk?" Gracie finally asked, pulling away to meet large brown eyes that mirrored her own.

"Yeah, let's go. Maybe Lukie will come too."

As the girls stood up, the door opened slowly, revealing a sleep-deprived looking Will, who stared at them both with a sad smile. "Hey, ladies. Mom broke the news, huh?"

Grace glared at him and eyed her sister for a reaction. Lily simply shrugged. "Kind of figured it was inevitable. You've been fighting with her a lot. I'm surprised it's not going to be permanent."

Will opened and closed his mouth, closing the door as he ran a hand through his hair, peppered with grey; buts still full and with its natural curl. "Can we have a chat?"

Lily suddenly found the carpet very entertaining as she picked a spot and focused on it hard. "There's nothing to say. You guys obviously made your choice."

The father of three crouched down in front of his girls, sitting cross-legged in front of Lily. "It's not that simple, Lil. Your mother and I made this decision because we've got to figure our relationship out in order to benefit you, Luke and Gracie," He smiled at the youngest child, ruffling her curls and earning a giggle from her. "We want a healthy, stable family. Right now, we don't have that because Mom and I need to work out some differences we're experiencing. Until we can do that, we feel that the environment best for you three is one where we're not constantly fighting. We're going to work this out, then come back together. It's not permanent. It just might take a few weeks, maybe a few months. We'll get there, honey."

Lily sniffed, letting a tear dribble down to her chin as she kept her gaze focused on the plush floor. "Is this because of my competitions? I can drop, Dad. I know it's hectic, and with Luke's soccer—"

"No! No, no..." Will insisted, reaching a hand out to rub Lily's shoulder, assuring her that the separation that was about to occur was in no way her fault. "We're so excited for you to go to nationals, your mom and I both. Yes, the rehearsals and commutes are crazy; but dancing is who you are. We'd never take that away from you."

She fell forward, resting her face against her father's shoulder, letting out a loud sigh. "I don't want to leave my room. My things are all in order, and I—"

"I wouldn't want you to change your schedule for me, baby. I'll make sure to see you plenty, don't you worry about the living arrangements."

She pulled away and rummaged through her closet for something comfortable to change into. "Can you ask mom to come in here? I should apologize for the way I acted earlier."

Will stood, taking Grace's offered hand and led her out of the room. "I'll send her right in."

Emma appeared just as Lily tugged a clean shirt over her head. The littler redhead's lower lip trembled as she took a few steps to close the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her mother's middle. "I'm sorry," She choked, "I've been impossible to deal with and I won't be surprised if you want to ship me off to live with grandpa and dad and—"

"Sh, sh, baby, baby..." Emma squeezed her tight and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "No worries, Lily. I forgive you, just like I always have and always will. Now, your sister is eagerly waiting with Luke to take a walk with you. Please keep an eye on them?"

Lily nodded and wiped her cheeks before following Emma to the front doorway and directing her younger siblings outside. The mother of three took a deep breath before turning to find her husband standing in the doorway, his arms crossed defensively. She expected an argument out of him after dropping the news on their children without him.

"Will, I-I'm sorry, Holly asked her something at dance that set her off, and next thing I knew she was having a complete meltdown. I know we said we'd tell them together, but I couldn't very well bring her home in that state without giving a rational explanation to the other two."

Will took a few steps forward, dropping his arms from his chest to rest on Emma's hips. She blinked, looking down questioningly as he gripped her tightly. "I'm not mad. I'm sorry that you had to face her alone."

Emma shook her head. "She-she wasn't violent. Not today. She could have been, but...she was as composed as she could be." Will dipped his head down, resting his forehead against hers. "Are, um...are you sure we-we have to do this?"

He nodded against her. "It's what the therapist and all those books we read said was best. Time apart — makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

She swallowed a lump and shrugged. Despite all their arguing, which had developed in the past few weeks into several screaming matches and Will's explosive temper as he'd broken a lamp in anger. That was the turning point for him, when he realized their arguments over finances, Lily's illness and subsequent future, and their work schedules weren't ever getting resolved. They only grew uglier with each one, and they needed some professional advice to turn their marriage back around.

"I guess," Emma sighed and kissed her husband's cheek. "Everything packed?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Will gave a little smirk. "Just clothes the essentials. I'm not leaving forever."

The only other time they'd come anywhere near ending their relationship over it's seventeen-year run was shortly after Grace's initial diagnosis and they had difficulty determining a course of treatment. Emma had rooted for raising her child in the deaf community, insisting surgery was dangerous, and may not have been what Grace would want at a later age. Will wanted desperately for his daughter to have a cochlear implant, so she could be a part of his world of music.

The battle that ensued almost called for a family court proxy to determine the best passage of health for little Grace, who, Emma insisted, did not have the stamina needed to undergo a surgery that wasn't to work on her weak heart. Emma had taken Grace a few states over to mull the decision over herself with her sister and parents.

_Emma crumpled as she hung up the phone with her husband. She knew she'd lost the battle._

_"You know," She laughed sarcastically, "The divorce rate," She sniffed, a strange smile present on her face, "The divorce rate for parents of special needs kids is over eighty percent?"_

_Her sister shook her head, "Emma, you're—"_

_"I always thought that Will and I were the couple to beat the odds. I mean...look how far we've come, right?" The redhead hugged her youngest child, kissing her forehead and wishing she could understand what was going on. "But I guess we're just going to be another statistic."_

_Annie choked her own tears out, refusing to believe her younger sibling. "What about your kids, Em? They need you and Will, both, fighting for them—"_

_"Well, they don't have us both fighting for them, Annie. Right now, they have me. And you better believe I'm going to ensure that they are treated the way they should be. Even if that means fighting their own father. In court."_

A few days later, Will had flown out to greet the girls with a compromise — Grace would have the cochlear implant, along with instruction in sign language. Emma had agreed, and since then, despite many bouts of mania from their eldest daughter, the couple had stood on solid ground.

Lily's mental state often fluctuated from intense happiness to crippling depression that left her in bed for days. Worse than that, however, were the bouts that had her dripping from grandiose dreams of success in the dance world, to complete, deteriorating violence. Four times she'd been under watch in a psychiatric wing of the local hospital, after hurling deadly threats on herself and others, followed by hysterical action. Hair pulling, biting, kicking, object projectiles, and flailing were manageable behaviors when Lily was four; but as she got older, her mania became less controllable. These hospitalizations followed by intense therapy proved to help her.

However, living with Lily was like living with a time bomb. Though Will was relieved when the family officially received a diagnosis of Lily's bipolar disorder, the family was constantly on edge, attempting to keep the environment placid enough to prevent chaos from ensuing. They'd learned the signs of a significant meltdown, and as Emma had done at the studio, the parents tried to keep Lily's manifestations of her inability to control herself as private as possible.

They were always on the lookout for the triggers of the anxiety that would provoke an episode, but for the most part, the past ten years of the Schuester's lives had been dance recitals, soccer games, and musical performances. Will had taken a new job as a professor of music at a university twenty minutes down the highway. Emma once again worked full-time as one of McKinley's guidance counselors, where she was nearby when Lily needed her.

Luke was a hyperactive, athletic eleven-year-old who excelled in anything except following directions. Grace excelled at making friends and enjoyed teaching her classmates sign language so they could communicate across the classroom.

The decision to separate for a few months had been of their marriage counselor, whom Will and Emma wish they'd started seeing sooner to prevent the ensuing time apart.

* * *

><p>Emma nearly jumped into Will's arms when she saw him for the first time, seven days after their separation began. Their therapist instructed them not to meet until an entire week had passed, and to allow the first meeting to take place at a session. Emma had arrived first, pacing back and forth until Will stepped into the room.<p>

He latched his arms around her waist, burying his face in her neck as he whispered, "There aren't words for how much I miss you."

The woman who was coaching them gave a little cough, and the two separated to take a seat on a sofa, where their fingers linked together.

After over ninety minutes of talking, crying, bickering and listening, the couple had completed their first session of separation. The therapist encouraged them to see each other at least twice before their next.

Not ready to let go just yet, Emma asked Will to come home for dinner.

He agreed, following her back to the house they'd lived in together for sixteen years.

They cooked together, a simple meal that they'd prepared hundreds of times before. Only this time, the lingering tension in the air wasn't due to a stale argument or a category seven meltdown from their daughter. It was from knowing that after the dishes were dried, they'd be mostly alone again, until the healing period was over.

Emma bit her lip as she watched Will lean back against the counter top. "There's nothing more I'd rather do than take you down the hall right now," He murmured, a smirk on his face. Emma flushed — she'd like that too, but knew it wasn't an appropriate course of action for their evening. "When this is over...Emma, I'm going to make love to you like it's our first time all over again."

The redhead flashed back to that night, their first night together — a snowy evening in February; the Glee kids were getting ready for Regionals and she and Will were getting ready to commit to one another though the promise of a ring.

"I anticipate it," She replied, leaning over the island countertop to kiss him.

* * *

><p>Seven weeks later, during what was supposed to be their last few days of separation, Lily had a breakdown at school; the intensity to which her action plan called for isolation in a medical facility. She'd been sedated when the paramedics arrived at McKinley, after Emma had failed to calm her with multiple methods that had worked in the past.<p>

When Will arrived to meet Emma where Lily would be hospitalized, he fell himself in disgust at their own inability to keep their daughter mentally healthy. "We did this," He argued, blinking back tears. "We knew how upset we'd make her as we went through this counseling, this separation — but we did it anyways. We did this."

Emma directed him to sit next to her on the pleather, outdated yellow seats of the lobby. "No, no. Think about how bad things were getting. How much time we spent screaming and bickering — that was only making her upset as well. This was the best choice for all of us. We were getting back together this weekend — refueled and ready to handle our problems in a better way. You and I needed this and unfortunately that had to come at an uncomfortable circumstance for our children. But they will be better for it, I guarantee you."

Will scoffed, crossing his arms. "Yes, clearly a psychiatric observation is better for Lily than hearing her mom and dad argue."

"Mm!" Emma gave him a pointed look. "No, we're not going to be sarcastic. That's what gets us into these little scuffles!" She took a deep breath before continuing. "You saw her last night at the studio. She was a nightmare — that's why you took her home early! She's been ready to snap for weeks now. Maybe the separation had something to do with it; but as you know, this is the course of her illness. She'll need her medication reevaluated and a new therapy schedule. She's still a teenager with fluctuating hormones. Someday, we'll have it right! But right now, we need to remember it's no one's fault that this happened. It's not Lily's, not the schools, not the dance or competitions, and Will, it's not ours. It's not our fault."

Will opened his eyes and gave Emma a weak smile, taking her hand and rubbing her wrist with this thumb. "You're right. I'm sorry."

She smiled gently and pressed a little kiss to his cheek, leaning her forehead against his. "What do you say I take the first night here and you spend a good night at home with Luke and Grace?"

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

They waited for almost three hours before a psychiatrist called them back, giving them permission to talk to her daughter who'd completed a session with one of the on-call doctors, where she'd given a pretty painful picture of her stressful circumstances of home over the past weeks. Both Will and Emma were plagued with guilt as he explained she should spend a few nights with them for monitoring purposes as they altered the dose of her medication.

When entering the room, filled with sofas and small furniture — designed for a child to feel comfortable opening up in, which Lily would use until adulthood, Lily burst up from the art area she'd been working at to thrust herself upon her mother, who barely caught her shaking frame. "I'm sorry!" She screeched, her fingernails digging into Emma's shoulders. "I-I didn't mean to do it again! I really didn't mean it, I really didn't!"

Emma moved them to a couch, inviting Lily to stay on her lap as she shushed her, rubbed her shoulders — anything to help the girl feel more comfortable. "Baby, I know, I know. It's not your fault. We aren't angry with you."

She cried long and loud, shaking and screaming occasionally. Emma, Will and the nurse in the room knew by now to let her cry it out.

Will took the brunt of their problem though by dropping what would surely be the most troubling news on their daughter, "Sweetheart, there is one thing though...you're not going to be able to compete at Starbound this weekend. You're going to be here until Sunday."

At the notion of not being allowed to compete in a state-wide competition, Lily screamed harder, hating herself for compromising a shot at nationals.

"Now, let's think about this — it wasn't even an Ohio competition. It was in Pennsylvania. Those girls are nothing worth beating anyway. Same old lyrical routines to different music every year. You've already got yourself slated with Ohio next month and New York in February. Keep calm, baby. This was just going to be practice." Emma insisted, knowing everything was going to turn out fine for her tiny dancer.

The evening progressed with Will giving a somber goodbye to his daughter and wife before heading home to stay for the first time in almost two months; though he wished it would have been under any other circumstance.

Lily returned to the painting she'd started before they walked in, methodically adding colors and expressing herself in the safe environment. She insisted Emma not look until she'd finished, so the mother sat curled up on a couch, observing her eldest with tired eyes. She felt significantly older as she watched Lily's attempts at perfection, trying not to impress her own younger days of inadequacy onto what she saw in the girl.

After revealing a watercolor depiction of flowers, which Lily claimed contained one for each member of the family, based on a color that represented them, the sixteen-year-old decided she was more than ready for an early bedtime. When they finished speaking with a doctor for pre-bed instructions, the two Schuester ladies made their way to Lily's room for the next few days preparing for a restless night with the altered medication.

When three in the morning hit and neither redhead had a wink of sleep, Lily begged Emma to tell her a story.

"Well," Emma sighed, trying to decide what was safe enough of a topic to discuss with the fragile girl. "When I realized I was pregnant with you, honey, I was terrified. Beyond scared. I was still so anxiety-driven myself that I didn't think I could ever handle the pressure of raising a baby. It took a great deal of comforting from your dad to realize that I had a shot at this...and then everything just seemed to fall into place. The music group he directed at the time was doing well, we were able to buy our house...and then you came early, and we were so, so scared for you...but you wound up being a pretty healthy baby. I was so happy to have you home, Lily. So happy to have you.

"You lit up my world, you gave your father and I such joy. Even though I wound up with post-partum depression, once I had treatment, you were my everything again."

Lily smiled, squeezing her mother's hand, begging her to continue.

"I didn't want to go back to work at first — I just did part time at the high school. You stayed with Gramps and Nana on those days. You loved to be over there, but...every time I cam to pick you up you would scream so loud, you were so excited to see me!" Emma giggled sleepily at the memory, "You'd waddle your baby butt over to the door and reach your arms up and just babble and yell until I picked you up. You were the cutest darn kid...but don't tell your brother and sister I said that," She winked, earning another smirk.

"When did you start to know things weren't right for me?" Lily questioned, settling into her pillow.

Emma gave a great puff of air as she thought about it. "Your dad said there were always signs of anxiety, honey, but I didn't really see them. I tried to ignore them, block them out. I didn't want to think there was anything wrong with my baby. I didn't want to be the cause of that. I knew there was separation anxiety, Gramps was literally the only person I could leave you with beside myself or your father...but you were always obsessive and particular about your toys, and your food, and the texture of your clothes. I just thought you were quirky."

Lily laughed and insisted, "I am quirky."

Emma stood up, cracking her back and pacing the room as she reflected on the journey she'd been on with her little girl. "There was the car accident that I think really pushed your buttons. But it got really bad when we put you in preschool. Oh, honey, it was rough dropping you off every day. By the time you were four, you...that's when you started acting out in more extreme ways. You started getting a bit violent. Hitting, kicking, running away at school. Do you remember Ms. Riley?"

The tired girl nodded. "She was amazing. I wish she were still my school psychologist. Maybe I wouldn't have these massive blowouts if she were."

Patting her leg, Emma tried to rid the thought from her daughter. "We've discussed that with the doctor honey. These moments happen because of your hormones and stresses. You didn't have much of either of those things in elementary school. This is a progressive disorder, remember?"

Lily bit her lip and nodded. "Keep going. It helps me to hear about it."

Emma swallowed a lump in her throat as the more sensitive parts of the story came. "You hurt Scott, stabbed him, actually. It was after that when we moved you to the special class. Remember that?"

"When I met Rianne."

The lump rose again. "Yeah...where you met that amazing little girl who we can't wait to see again."

Rianne had been moved to a long-term care facility, but was expected to return home within the next few months. "She's going to dance with me again. She told me, on the phone. She's been practicing."

Emma kissed Lily's cheek before continuing. "That's when you started pulling your hair out and becoming angry. That's when we started to see it was a real problem. That's when we started to think maybe you were Bipolar-OCD."

"Which I am."

"Which you are, with no shame."

Lily smiled and reached up for a long hug. "With no shame."

* * *

><p>December wove into their lives and both Lily and Will returned home with no intentions of leaving. When the winter break hit them, the family decided to break a longstanding tradition of Christmas in Virginia and spend a quiet one at home, still recuperating from their stressful year.<p>

Will's father had come over to make the family breakfast in the early hours of December twenty-fifth, earning a delighted response from the younger generations. After eating, the family sat down for a round of opening gifts before taking a break to enjoy a Schuester family classic of Lilys' first Christmas recital and competition, followed by home movies of Christmas mornings at the chaotic Pillsbury household.

After laugher, lunch, and a second round of presents, the family spent time together in the basement, singing and dancing, in Lily's case, to Christmas classics before doing a round of high's and low's of the year. Everyone's high was unanimous, spending the day together after the weeks of hell previously spent apart.

That night, when the leftovers were put away, wrapping paper disposed of, new presents half-opened under the tree and all the kids tucked into bed, Will started a hot bath for himself and his wife to spend quality time together. They both sighed in unison after soaking into the hot water, delighted to spend the time together.

After quiet kisses and a relaxing massage, the two snuggled up under the heated blankets, more than ready to spend the night in one another's arms. "Merry Christmas, Em," Will smiled into a kiss, which she returned with vibrance.

"Merry Christmas, to you...and to a new year filled with nothing but the best for us, and our family."

* * *

><p>Halleloo, halleloo! It is done! I literally did not edit this nor send it to beta — it is what it is! This is not the ten thousand word chapters you've been used to reading, but my goodness it is finally through. I will not apologize for not really finishing this until the producers of the show apologize to the fanbase for what that circus has become. I was originally going to write a really angsty divorce scene for this last epilogue, but about eight thousand words into it I decided, <em>hm, I don't think this 3AM special is what the readers are going to want<em>. However if you are interested, send me an e-mail to the one listed in my profile. I will not send anything in response to a PM or review.

I will extend a final gracious thank you to my amazing readers for supporting me over the past three years as I turned out this trilogy with the most bullshit timing, along with all of my other Glee fics. Your support is what has kept me going and I cannot express my gratitude enough!

To keep up with me, you can follow my Tumblr (linked on my profile page), or subscribe to my stories. However, I will not be producing any more _Glee_ fics. The next few that I will be writing will be from two older fandoms of mine, including a four-chapter_ Danny Phantom _story and a _Naruto_ Sasuke/Sakura angsty one-shot. There might also be more_ Once Upon a Time_ fics (but probably not) and possibly even something from the Nolan-verse _Dark Knight_ trilogy. We'll see what's in store. With another upcoming semester of twenty-one credit hours/working/student teaching/being in charge of everything/community service, probably nothing.

If I never write anything else for you to read again, thank you for having followed me through this journey! If I do produce something else you're interested in — I'll see you next time!


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